Undergrads: Bootleg
by tim gueguen
Summary: A chronicle of the further adventures and misadventures of Parker "Nitz" Walsh and friends as they enter their second year of higher education.
1. Reboot

Undergrads: Bootleg  
  
By tim gueguen   
  
Episode 1-Reboot  
  
Based on characters and situations from the cartoon series Undergrads, created by Pete Williams. This fanfiction series is intended for non-commercial entertainment purposes only, with no intent to violate commercial copyright and/or generate financial recompense for the author.

* * *

As Rocko shifted the 24 pack of beer in his arms he heard a familiar voice calling his name. "Hey, Rocko!" Looking over he saw, as he often thought of her, that hot but annoying piece of ass Jesse walking towards him.  
  
"Yo. What do ya want?"  
  
"Have you seen Nitz lately?"  
  
"Nah, haven't seen him in a while," he replied, shaking his head. "I've been outta town for a month. Went to California to do some surfing." He frowned as Jesse started laughing. "What's so funny?"  
  
"You, surfing? I didn't think you could walk and chew gum at the same time," she snickered.  
  
Rocko glared at her. "Sometimes I really hate you. You know that, don't you?"  
  
"Later, dude," she said and walked away. Rocko shrugged. If she were going to be like that then he wouldn't tell Nitz she was looking for him when he ran into him.  
  
Jesse walked back over to where her mother was waiting, looking in a shop window. Her mother had driven her into town, arguing it was easier to carry all her things that way than trying to pack them on the bus. The beginning of the fall semester was still 3 days away but Jesse had decided to avoid the rush and move into her dorm room before classes started.  
  
Seeing the expression on her mother's face it wasn't hard to guess what she was going to ask. "Jesse dear, was that young man a boyfriend, or someone you're interested in?"  
  
So typical of Mom, she thought. She laughed. "No, Mom. He's just a friend of a friend. Just wanted to see if they'd run into each other lately. Besides," she said as she waved a hand in Rocko's direction,"he's the kind of guy I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy." She was able to keep her annoyance from showing when her mother relaxed. She could just imagine the result if she had said she was interested in Rocko, namely her mother asking why she couldn't find a better class of boyfriend, preferably a nice Chinese boy studying medicine or law.  
  
She smiled ruefully as they resumed their course down the street. It could be worse. At least her parents lived several hours away, so their ability to interfere in her life was limited during the school year. That's gotta be one of the few advantages of coming from a small town in the middle of nowhere, she thought.

* * *

Jesse sat on her bed and leaned back against the wall. After spending some time shopping together and eating an early supper her mother had helped Jesse carry her things into Chilton Hall and had left for home. With her mother gone she would have a couple of days in the calm before the storm that was the first week of classes to figure out what to do about Nitz.  
  
From almost the moment she had met Nitz Walsh she had been his confidant, shoulder to lean on, and personal "advice columnist." Unfortunately Nitz had done little to acknowledge her help, and as time wore on it became obvious he had begun to take her friendship for granted, despite some not so subtle hints on her part of her growing frustration with him. Things hadn't been helped by Nitz's long running crush on Kimmy Burton, who he'd been interested in since high school. The redhead rubbed Jesse the wrong way for a number of reasons, and Nitz's behaviour regarding anything to do with her often crossed the line into the unnerving. He had even gone so far as to consider not coming back for the fall semester if Kimmy decided to leave State U., an obvious sign in Jesse's opinion that his crush was on the verge of becoming an unhealthy obsession. Ditching her at an end of term party he had dragged her along to, so he could be with Kimmy, had been the last straw. When they had run into each other the next morning she had exploded with anger, pouring out her frustration and disappointment with his actions. She had then driven away before he could respond.  
  
She'd made a deliberate effort to not think about Nitz as she started her summer vacation. For a while it had worked, but as the weeks went on he slowly began to creep back into her thoughts. She eventually started to consider what had happened between them and what she might do about it.  
  
Of course she had to admit her own attraction to Nitz had played a role. If he were just a friend his behaviour probably wouldn't have bugged her so much, and she wouldn't have let him get away with some of the things he did. But there was something about him that had drawn her to him when they first met, and she had developed feelings for him. When his insecurities and Kimmy obsession were on the back burner she enjoyed being with him. He was smart and had a sense of humour that she liked, although he didn't show it often enough. Even though she often teased him about it she kind of admired his loyalty to his weird and often troublesome childhood friends. And she found herself silently cheering him on as he cautiously, and sometimes clumsily, opened himself to new people and experiences.  
  
She stood up and began to pace. She knew that deciding how to handle Nitz wasn't simply a matter of blandly weighing the pros and cons. Personal relationships didn't work that way. Listening to your instincts, trusting your gut feelings, following your heart, whatever you wanted to call it was involved, and hers told her not to give up on Nitz. Although she wanted more, something told her that even if all she and Nitz ever were was just friends it would be worth the effort. But if they were to stay friends things couldn't keep going the way they had been.  
  
"I wonder if Nitz has been thinking about this too?" she muttered as she walked over to the window. He hadn't tried to get in touch with her over summer break, and she couldn't decide how she would have reacted if he had. I guess I'll find out if he has soon enough, she thought as she looked out at the darkening sky.

* * *

Jesse grinned as she made her way across the quad and took in the chaos around her. As she had expected the first day of classes was a madhouse. No matter where you went it seemed like half of the State U. student population was trying to go there as well. This year's crop of freshmen weren't hard to spot given that they all had some combination of confusion and nervousness on their faces. Of course last year she had been one of those poor unfortunates, so she was hardly unsympathetic to their plight.  
  
As she walked along she carefully scanned the crowd, looking for a specific face. "Aha," she muttered, finally spotting her blond haired quarry. He's apparently been taking fashion lessons from the Duggler, she thought with amusement on seeing the white bathrobe he was wearing over his usual shorts and bunnyhug combo. "Cal! Hey, Cal!!" she shouted at him, waving her arms. He looked over, waved back, and began walking towards her.  
  
"Hey, Jesseladyguy! How are you?"  
  
"Not bad. Have you seen Nitz?"  
  
Cal frowned. "Nitzguy is gonna be a day or two late starting classes. He won a trip to the Bahamas, but then the company went broke, so he got stuck there."  
  
"Oh good grief!" Jesse replied, rolling her eyes. "That sounds just like the kind of weird thing that would happen to Nitz. So, do you know what room he's getting this year?"  
  
Cal looked down at the clipboard he was carrying and began flipping through a stack of papers. "He's in 543."  
  
"Hmmm, same as last year."   
  
"Yeah, but I'm in 502, 'cause I'm an RA now, and RAs can't have roommates."  
  
Jesse nodded in agreement. "Yeah, they want people who come to you guys to be free to say what's on their minds, without worrying about someone else listening in, and you wouldn't want to have to chase a roommate out every five minutes."  
  
"That's right," replied Cal. He looked down at his watch. "I haveta go, Jesseladyguy. I have to go to a meeting. RAs have to go to lots of meetings!"  
  
"Yeah, I imagine."  
  
"If I see Nitzguy I'll tell him you're looking for him."  
  
"Thanks, Cal." As Cal walked off she couldn't help but smile. Knowing Cal's fondness for the ladies she bet he'd be unlikely to last out the fall term as a RA. Either he would find it interfered with his social life too much and quit, or he'd get canned for violating the rules about RA's having personal relationships with students on their floor.   
  
Well Nitz, it looks like you've been given a stay of execution, she thought wryly as she headed off to her next class.

* * *

"Hey, Nitz."  
  
Nitz looked up in surprise from his chair at the sound of Jesse's voice. "Hi, Jesse," he replied. She looked pretty much the same as when he'd last seen her. Hooded sweater, olive drab cargo pants, midriff baring t-shirt and short, shaggy hair.  
  
"Heard you had an interesting summer adventure," she said as she walked into the dorm room and sat down on his bed. "The Bahamas, in summer?" she asked, and shook her head. "You're supposed to go in the winter to get away from the cold."  
  
Nitz shrugged. "Hey, it was free. I didn't remember entering any contest for a trip, but I wasn't going to turn down a free trip, even if I had to take it right away." He frowned. "Of course that should have been a warning sign. That, and that it was a trip for one. Guess they figured you wouldn't go by yourself and would buy the ticket and such through them."  
  
"So the company went broke and you got stuck there."  
  
"Yeah. Took a few days to arrange a way back, but the hotel was nice about it. Let me stay in exchange for helping with some rooms they were painting."  
  
"Lucky you," she chuckled. "Guess it could have been worse. And at least you didn't just sit around your house all summer."  
  
Nitz nodded in agreement. Several moments passed in silence as both of them considered what to say next. "Umm, Jesse, its not that I'm not glad to see you, because I am, glad to see you that is. Its just, well...."  
  
"You're surprised to see me here after what I said the last time I saw you," she said, finishing his thought.  
  
"Ummm, yeah."  
  
Jesse crossed her arms. "It's true, I was pretty pissed at you. But I had the summer to calm down and think things over."  
  
"That's good. So we...."  
  
"Hold it, Nitz," she interrupted, raising a finger to silence him. "Just because I decided I'm not giving up on our friendship doesn't mean things are going to stay the same. You and I need to get a few things straight!"  
  
"Ummm, okay," he replied lamely.  
  
A stern look appeared on her face. "First of all, you can't keep coming to me expecting me to solve every little problem you have, you have to figure out things for yourself. It seemed like every time you had a problem you expected me to tell you what to do." She frowned. "And that's so weird, because you're able to give your buddies sensible advice. You also have to stop overreacting to everything."  
  
"I don't do that," he said rather unconvincingly.  
  
She glared at him. "Oh really? Does the name 'Room Guy' ring a bell? Or better yet that ridiculous nonsense about quitting school if Kimmy left State U. And that's another thing, the world does not revolve around Kimmy Burton, or your relationship with her. So don't expect me to sit there and listen to you go on and on about her! You also need to remember that there are other people in the world you need to pay attention to, like your friends!"  
  
Nitz pulled back slightly from Jesse. The obvious anger in her voice unnerved him.  
  
"Since I brought her up, I do have a question to ask," Jesse continued with a sigh. "Are you going to to out together?"  
  
Nitz nodded. "I asked Kimmy out and she said yes."  
  
"Good."  
  
"Huh? But you don't like Kimmy," replied Nitz, his confusion obvious.  
  
"No I don't. But you do, and if being with her makes you happy, well, we'll just have to agree to disagree. Besides, you going out with Kimmy has got to be an improvement over listening to you obsess about her all the time." Jesse let out another sigh. "But you know what really got to me? That you took me for granted, that you'd just start throwing your problems at me without even asking for my help first. You just assumed I'd give it to you. And to make matters worse you didn't thank me when I did help you." She gave him a hard stare. "I deserve better than that, Nitz."  
  
Nitz looked down at his feet in embarrassment. Jesse really hadn't said anything he hadn't already figured out himself. But it was still painful to actually be confronted with his failings, and seeing her anger and disappointment with him once more drove the point home. He looked up at her. "I'm sorry, Jesse. I know I've been a jerk, and I'm sorry I didn't try to get in touch with you to apologise, but I wasn't really sure what to do. You know I'm not the greatest at dealing with people." He looked back down at his feet again. "I honestly didn't try to hurt your feelings on purpose."  
  
"I know, Nitz," she said, her featuring softening. "But that doesn't change the fact that you did." She stood up and walked over to the door. "If you had done what you did to deliberately hurt me I wouldn't be here. But cluelessness only works as an excuse for so long. In other words, Nitz, as far as I'm concerned you're on probation." With that she walked out the door.  
  
Nitz looked out his door for several moments after Jesse left. "She's scary," he finally said in a meek voice.  
  
"Who's scary?" asked a familiar voice.  
  
Nitz looked over at his computer, seeing Gimpy's face on the screen. "Jesse," he replied.  
  
"Of course," said Gimpy matter of factly. "After all, girls are the enemy, and Jesse is a girl."  
  
Nitz rolled his eyes. "Hmmph, like you're such an expert on girls."  
  
The bug eyed young man just shrugged his shoulders and smiled.


	2. Attendance

Episode 2: Attendance

Gimpy hummed as he scanned the listings on eSell. It had been a slow stretch for Star Wars items on the auction service, and today's search hadn't changed that. He saw nothing available that he didn't have already or actually wanted. After all he had no use for children's size 6 Chewbacca print underwear, and had no need for yet another standard Han Solo figure.  
  
His search was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Come in," he called out.  
  
Mump walked in, carrying an envelope. "Sir, you'd better look at this," he said nervously. "It's from the Assistant Dean."  
  
"Hmmm, probably wants to consult me on some important matter that only I can help with."  
  
Mump responded as he imagined Gimpy wanted him to. "You're probably right, sir." But what he was actually thinking was Oh brother! Gimpy might be the leader of what Rocko, and sometimes Nitz, refered to as the "Tekerson Geek Squad," but sometimes his ego was too much even for them.  
  
Gimpy opened the letter and began reading. A perplexed expression appeared on his face. "The hell? They want to see me about my classroom attendance."  
  
Should have seen that coming, thought Mump. 

* * *

Gimpy sat in the office of the Assistant Dean, Professor MacKinnon. He had arranged an appointment as quickly as possible, wanting to get whatever problem they had with him resolved.  
  
The balding professor pushed his reading glasses further up his nose. "I'd like to thank you, Mr. Taylor, for coming in so promptly."  
  
"I'm always ready to cooperate with the administration," Gimpy responded. He hoped he didn't sound too ingratiating. "So there's a problem with my attendance?"  
  
MacKinnon nodded. "Yes, it has come to our attention that you aren't physically attending your classes, other than in rare circumstances."   
  
"How is that a problem? I'm doing the assignments, taking the exams, and so forth."  
  
"Indeed you are, Mr. Taylor." The professor took off his glasses. "However, there is more to taking a course than simply doing the required coursework and taking the exams. We expect people who are given a space to study at Tekerson proper to actually make an effort to physically take part in their classes. We do of course have distance education opportunities, where students can take courses at locations in other parts of the state and country, but you are not currently enrolled in such a program."  
  
Gimpy didn't like the sound of this. "So what am I expected to do?"  
  
"Quite simply we expect you to show up regularly for your classes. If you don't I'm afraid we'll have to suspend you pending disciplinary action." Professor MacKinnon looked down at a file folder on his desk. "Given that your records indicate a similar pattern last year I'm afraid its entirely likely you'll be expelled, although you would likely be allowed to reapply at a later date, or for a distance education program."  
  
Gimpy slumped back into his chair. Being expelled would mean losing a year. "Will that be all, sir?"  
  
"For now, yes." The professor smiled at him. "If there is anything we can do to help you resolve this situation please let us know.  
  
Gimpy walked out of the office. He was in big trouble, and had no idea what to do about it. This would never have happened if we'd moved onto that platform. Stupid government, stupid 1 million bucks we didn't have, he thought angrily.

* * *

"Can you believe it?" Gimpy asked angrily from the webcam popup on Nitz's computer screen. "They want me to physically attend class!"  
  
Nitz shook his head. "Oh, those horrible people," he said with an exaggerated tone of disbelief in his voice. "Actually expecting someone who attends their school to actually show up for class."  
  
Rocko, who was sitting in Nitz's desk chair, laughed. "Geez, Gimpy, even I show up for class. Yeah, I may miss half of 'em, and I'm hung over half the time I do go, but I show up."  
  
"That's easy for you to say!" Gimpy shot back. "You know what I'm like."  
  
"Come off it, Gimpy," Nitz responded, his annoyance obvious. "You never had any trouble showing up for high school. But a week at Tekerson and suddenly you became Mr. Shut In. Sorry, but I don't buy it."  
  
"And here I thought I'd get some sympathy from you!" Gimpy responded angrily. "Thanks a lot!" With that the popup winked out.  
  
"Ohoh, now you're in trouble, buddy," Rocko snickered. "He might go screw with your credit rating or something."  
  
Nitz leaned back against the wall by his bed. "Sorry, but I think Gimpy's being an idiot." He looked up as Jesse walked in the room. "Hey, Jesse."  
  
She smiled. "So, what's up with Gimpy that's got you so bitchy?"  
  
Nitz snorted. "The administration at Tekerson want him to actually attend classes and he's upset about it." He slipped his hands between his head and the wall. "As if its some great horror to actually sit in a classroom."  
  
"So how does he take his classes if he's not in the classroom?" Jesse asked in confusion.   
  
"I think one of the Geek Squad goes in with a laptop and a video camera and feeds it back to him via the 'Net," replied Nitz. "I think they hand in his assignments for him too." The phone on his desk rang, and Nitz jumped up to grab it before Rocko could. "Hello? Hey, Kimmy."  
  
Jesse's shoulders slumped. She had come to ask him if he wanted to catch a movie with Dan and her, but she guessed he'd be soon running out the door to do the bidding of the Ditzy Redhead.  
  
"What time?" Nitz asked, looking at his watch. "Sure, I can be there. Okay, talk to you in a bit." He put down the phone and grabbed his jacket from the end of the bed. "Sorry, guys, gotta run. Kimmy wants me to go to an art show with her, and it starts pretty quick. Lock up when you leave, Rocko."  
  
"Sure, Nitz," Rocko replied as Nitz ran out the door. Rocko turned to look at Jesse. "You were gonna ask him to go do something."  
  
Jesse sighed. "Yeah, but it was no biggie. There's a new kung fu flick out that Dan and I are gonna go see, and I was going to ask him if he wanted to come along."  
  
"Still pisses you off though."  
  
Jesse chuckled. "No surprise you'd guess that. You're used to having women pissed at you."  
  
Rocko smiled, not minding Jesse's teasing today for some reason. "Hey, everyone's gotta have a special skill. Mine's pissing chicks off."

* * *

Nitz walked beside Kimmy as she carefully studied each picture in the gallery. As much as he enjoyed being with her he found himself getting increasingly bored. The show featured various pieces by local abstract artists and she seemed utterly determined to give each one an extended study.  
  
Nitz didn't dismiss the abstract pieces out of hand, and in fact found some of them rather interesting. But Kimmy seemed to consider every one of them to be equally of interest, while Nitz thought many of them were bad art. The one they were standing by at the moment, called "Words of Energy," looked like an orange piece of paper with a blue stripe painted down the middle. He couldn't see it as a "bold statement on the electronic age" as Kimmy had quoted from the exhibit booklet.   
  
"Oh, there's Ken! I haven't talked to him in hours!" exclaimed Kimmy.  
  
That was another thing that annoyed Nitz. It seemed like half the patrons in the gallery were friends of Kimmy's, and she just had to talk to all of them. Wasn't she supposed to be paying attention mainly to him, especially since she had asked him out?  
  
Part of him thought he was complaining about nothing. He was with Kimmy Burton, KIMMY BURTON!! His dream girl. He'd wanted to go out with her forever, and finally he was getting the chance! What more could he ask for?  
  
Unnoticed by Nitz as he followed Kimmy around was Kruger. The curly haired young man shook his head as he watched them. So he is going out with her. Why the #$% is he with that twit when he could have Jesse, he thought as he looked at one of the paintings.

* * *

Jesse walked into her dorm room. She had enjoyed the movie, but she was still annoyed Nitz hadn't come along. She smiled as she noticed a new addition to the décor, a bass guitar sitting on a stand. She bent down to look at the signature scrawled in black felt tip marker on the upper half of the body.  
  
"Pretty cool huh?" asked the young woman who walked in the door, drying off her damp brown hair with a towel. "My fav bass player, Tony Levin, signed that. Not only that, he's got a Musicman Stingray with a serial number 3 away from that one."  
  
"Hi, Lisa," said Jesse to her current roommate. "For once we're both here and awake at the same time."  
  
Lisa laughed. "Yeah, I know I keep some odd hours."  
  
Jesse nodded in agreement. "So what is up with that? Usually you come in after I've gone to sleep, and I leave in the morning while you're still asleep."  
  
Lisa sat down on her bed. "Well, I've got my classes arranged so they're all in the afternoon or early evening. I'm in a band, as you might have guessed by that thing being her," she said, pointing to her bass. "So by doing that I can do stuff with the band, a few gigs even, in the evenings and actually be awake when I go to class. Its working well so far, and it doesn't seem to bug you when I come in late."  
  
"Nah, don't worry about it," replied Jesse with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Any roommate is better than that freakshow Charity I roomed with last year."   
  
Lisa frowned. "Someone told me she got arrested, and that's why she's not here this year."  
  
Jesse nodded. "Yeah, she's obsessed with some guy named Jonah. She broke into his house during the summer and got busted for breaking and entering." Jesse leaned closer to Lisa and gave her a conspiratorial look. "An old classmate of her's told me the cops supposedly found her in the poor guy's bedroom, naked, and rolling around on a pile of his clothing while feeling herself up."  
  
Lisa made a face of disgust. "Ick."  
  
Jesse nodded in agreement. "Yeah, ick."  
  
"So, how are you? I saw you earlier and you looked a bit pissed off about something," Lisa said as she threw her towel over her chair.  
  
"Ah, its really no big deal," replied Jesse with a shrug. "I was going to ask my friend Nitz to go to a movie with me and another buddy but he ran off to go be with his girlfriend, who I really don't like much." Jesse shook her head. "There's just something about her that gets on my nerves."  
  
Lisa nodded, a sly look on her face. "Yeah, Kimmy tends to have that effect on a lot of people."  
  
"Oh, so you know Ki...." Jesse suddenly let out a long sigh and started rapping herself on the head with her knuckles. "Grrrr, I am such an idiot sometimes! I should have guessed someone with the last name Burton might be related to her."  
  
"Yeah, Kimmy's my cousin," said Lisa with a laugh. "But don't worry about it. Yeah, she's family, I love her, but I'm not gonna deny she can be as annoying as hell. So if you feel the need to vent about her, go ahead. It'll stay strictly between us." A smirk appeared on her face. "Just like anything she'd gripe about you to me would."  
  
Jesse laughed. "Touche!"

* * *

Gimpy looked at his gathered minions. "Gentlemen, the administration of our school expects me to attend classes in the flesh. Since I do not want to do so we must find a way to make it appear as if I am doing so. I understand some of you already have solutions to propose."  
  
One of them, a very tall young man with messy brown hair stepped forward. "Yes, sir, I do. Oh, by the way, I'm Billy, and I'm a freshman."  
  
Gimpy nodded. "Yes, I thought you looked new. Go on."  
  
Billy walked out the door of Gimpy's room and walked back in towing a metal disk the diameter of a garbage can lid, and about a foot and a half thick, that rode on metal wheels. "This is a holographic generator sir, courtesy of the Tekerson electronics lab." He bent down and flipped a switch. Instantly an exact 3D duplicate of Gimpy appeared. The assembled crowded ooohed and aaahed as they circled the image. It was the exact dimensions of Gimpy and appeared completely solid. "With a bit of practice we should be able to roll it in without being noticed. And it has audio and motion control inputs, so it can mimic you talking and moving by remote control, so you'll be able to interact with the class without leaving your room."  
  
"Excellent!" chortled Gimpy, grinning widely and rubbing his hands together. "This will be absolutely perfect." But before Gimpy could say more a loud buzzing began to fill the room and the image started to become wobbly. "The hell?" said Gimpy in confusion. Sparks began to shoot out of the generator, and the crowd quickly moved away from it. The buzz changed briefly into a loud whine before the holographic Gimpy winked out and a thin stream of smoke began to drift out of the generator.  
  
Billy blushed in embarrassment as everyone stared at him. "Sorry," he said sheepishly. He reached into one of his pants pockets and produced an envelope. "They sent along this letter in case we had problems." He handed it to Gimpy.  
  
Gimpy opened the envelope and pulled out a typewritten note. "Hmmm, it says here that the unit, being a prototype, may have problems." He read a bit further, and his face twisted into an angry sneer. "It also says that the unit has a predicted mean time between failures of 6 minutes and 3.2156 seconds!!" He threw the letter to the ground in disgust. "In other words, its useless for our plans!"

* * *

Mump walked quickly into the room. "Sir, Franklin has arrived. He's brought along his   
solution to the problem."  
  
"Good," Gimpy said wearily. "Hopefully it's better than the mass hypnosis idea we just discussed."  
  
The skinny blond walked in, pushing a covered form in front of him on a small, wheeled platform. "I've got the thing right here!" he announced confidently. He reached up and whipped off the sheet covering his creation. "I call it...the Gimpybot," he said dramatically.  
  
The group looked at the robotic duplicate of Gimpy. "Kinda crude isn't it?" asked someone.   
  
Mump nodded in agreement. "Yes, you can see the joints for the jaw for example."  
  
Franklin stuck his hands into the pockets of his corduroy pants and shrugged. "I'm working on a budget. Besides, it was originally designed to be a duplicate of Darth Vader."  
  
"Well, I guess sacrifices must be made," said Gimpy sadly. After all, what could be more wonderful than a robotic tribute to the beloved Lord of the Sith?  
  
Franklin pulled up the sweater the robot was wearing, opened a small panel, and slipped what looked like an old video game cartridge into a slot. "It operates via programs encoded onto these cartridges." He pressed a button inside the opening, and shut the panel. "I've inserted a simple test program."  
  
A series of beeps issued from the machine, and it slowly opened its eyes. It then began to take a look around the room. It raised its arms stiffly straight out in front of itself and walked off the platform. "WE-ARE-THE-DALEKS!" it shouted mechanically. "WE-WILL-EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!"  
  
"W-where did that cartridge come from?" asked Mump nervously.  
  
"Um, they were cartridges from a videogame console called Supervision that never hit the market," replied Franklin. "That one was originally for a game called Dr. Who Versus the Daleks 2150."  
  
Gimpy stared at his robotic double, which was beginning to march towards the assembled computer nerds, still shouting about Daleks and extermination. "In that case, gentlemen, I have one suggestion. RUN!!!!" Taking Gimpy's advice they charged out the door in a fearful mass, the Gimpybot hot on their heels.

* * *

Gimpy slumped in his chair in defeat. Every idea they had come up with had turned out to have a fatal flaw. Plans to use clones, mind control rays, and psychic projection had all been ruled out as too dangerous, too expensive, or not being possible without studying for years with the ancient masters of Shamballa. Even the best one, courtesy of a friend of Mump's, a device that made masks that exactly duplicated a person's features, had failed. The masks only lasted an hour before deteriorating, and the material cost $200 a mask, so it would cost several thousand dollars a week to use them.  
  
"What am I going to do?" asked Gimpy plaintively as he watched the last of his disappointed minions walk slowly out the door.

* * *

Nitz clicked his mouse on the bookmark for Gimpy's webcam. "Hey, Gimpy," Nitz said as Gimpy's face appeared. Gimpy looked haggard, his large eyes bloodshot. "Long night huh?"  
  
Gimpy nodded. "Yes, I was up very late trying to solve my...problem."  
  
Nitz nodded. "Yeah, about that. I'm sorry, Gimpy. I know I...."  
  
Gimpy waved a hand to cut Nitz off. "No, you were right, Nitz, you were right."  
  
"So, how did you end up in this mess anyways?"  
  
"I don't know. Maybe it was because no one was making me go out anymore. My parents weren't around to nag me, and the professors didn't make a big deal out of it. I was suddenly free to do whatever I wanted to, without interference." He smiled a bit. "And then I found out the effect I could have on others."  
  
Nitz grinned. "Yeah, that bunch you've got running around for you will do just about anything you ask." He chuckled. "That's a part of the problem, Gimpy. Having them at your beck and call has made you lazy, and allowed you to get away with not showing up."  
  
Gimpy looked embarrassed. "Yeah, I guess that's true. So, what am I going to do?"  
  
"You really don't have much choice. Either you get off your butt and show up for your classes, or you can throw away the next year until you can get reinstated." Nitz smirked. "Not to mention you'll probably have to move back in with your parents."  
  
"Ugggh, yes," said Gimpy.

* * *

Unbeknownst to Nitz and Gimpy, as they talked their computer link was being monitored.  
  
The young woman frowned as she watched and listened. The possibility Gimpy might have to leave Tekerson was just not acceptable. She wanted him where she could keep track of him. She intended to follow that classic piece of wisdom about keeping your enemies closer than your friends.  
  
It wasn't as if she was attracted to him. Oh no. Not a jerk like G Prime. She just wanted to keep him around so she could pick the best time to utterly humiliate him.  
  
At least that's what she kept telling herself.  
  
She grabbed her mouse and opened up a program. She then began typing in a series of numbers.

* * *

Nitz frowned at his computer monitor. Gimpy's image in the video popup had started to waver. "Gimpy, are you starting to get some interference on your end?" he asked.  
  
"Yes, I am," Gimpy replied, a frown on his face. As the pair watched their respective monitors their screens faded to white, and Gimpy's G Prime logo appeared. A red circle then surrounded the logo, and a diagonal slash cut across it, followed by the logo morphing into a logo very familiar to Gimpy, accompanied by loud cackling. "SHE PRIME!!" he shouted angrily.  
  
"Sooo, poor widdle Gimpy is afraid of the big bad classroom," she taunted. "Maybe you should consider changing your name from Gimpy to Wimpy."  
  
"Why you...." Gimpy growled as he frantically tried to get a tracking program he had come up with to lock onto She Prime's location.  
  
"Oh well, I'm sure everything will be all right if you get kicked out," she continued. "I'm sure Spud will do a fine job of running things in your place."  
  
"Spud? SPUD!? You think that Star Trek obsessed fool can replace the great G Prime?"  
  
She Prime cackled again. "Of course. At least he can leave his room for more than five minutes at a time!" The She Prime logo started to fade out on Gimpy's monitor. "Well, gotta go. See you around. Or not see you around, whichever the case may be." Gimpy's screen returned to its normal Boba Fett background, with the webcam window once more showing Nitz's face.  
  
Gimpy smashed his fists into his keyboard in frustration. Another few seconds and he would have located her! "Damn her! Well, she'd better watch out! I'll show her who the man is around here!" he shouted, shaking his fist.  
  
Boy, she sure got him worked up thought Nitz as Gimpy continued to rant.

* * *

"So you're really going to do it, sir," said Mump as he marched beside Gimpy.  
  
"Yes indeed, my loyal second in command. I will be attending classes in person as much as possible from now on." His face took on a determined look. "It will mean sacrificing some freedom on my part, but I will do it for the good of us all, and to show certain naysayers that G Prime is not to be trifled with."  
  
"And we'll all be right behind you all the way!" exclaimed Mump as they walked into their first class of the day.  
  
Neither young man noticed the wide grin that appeared on the face of a young woman in a black trench coat sitting in a back corner of the classroom. "Success," she said softly as she watched Gimpy sit down.


	3. On The Town

Episode 3: On the Town  
  
Rocko sat down on a barstool and waited for the bartender to notice him. As usual when he went out, which was most nights, Rocko's goal was getting a good buzz and getting a hot babe, and he'd heard this new bar was the place to do it. He hoped that for once he'd get the latter, and not just the former. So far his college career had been a disappointment in the ladies department.  
  
The sound of a barstool scraping across tiled floor caught his attention, and he recognised the man taking a seat beside him. "Hey, Kruger, what the hell you doin' here?"  
  
A smirk briefly broke Kruger's perpetual sneer. "Same #^$^%$ thing you're doing here," he snorted as he reached into his jacket for a cigarette. "Hoping to get some." He leered as he stuck the cigarette in his mouth and lit it with a lighter. "Or I'm #$%^$# guessin' that's why you're here. You are a friend of Nitz's, and I kinda wonder about him."  
  
Rocko resisted the urge to smack Kruger in the chops. After all he didn't want to get thrown out before having at least one drink. "Yeah, right. Anyone that hung up on a broad can't be gay."  
  
Kruger laughed. "Yer #^%#$$# right! In fact its #^$^%$ scary the way he chases after that Burton chick."  
  
Rocko rolled his eyes. "You've only had to put up with it for a year. I've had to put up with his googoo eyes for her since junior high." Looking past Kruger, his eyes suddenly widened, followed by an upset "Dammit!"  
  
"Whats your problem?"  
  
"Look who just walked in the door," he responded in an upset tone of voice, pointing towards the door.   
  
Kruger turned to see the bane of much of the male student body of State U., Tekerson Tech, and Central State Junior Community College standing in the doorway. "^&%$$ Evans!" he snarled.  
  
  
  
"And you know what that means. Every unattached hottie in sight will be makin' a move on him, and ignoring every other guy around." Rocko looked to the ceiling, shaking his head. "Why me? Is it too much to ask to have one night when I can score?"  
  
"Nuthin' says we have to #$#%# stay around here. Let's go find someplace else."  
  
Rocko grinned widely. "Yeah, yer right! Let's haul ass."  
  
Cal looked up and frowned as he saw Rocko quickly walk out of the bar. He had been going to call him over but didn't get the chance.  
  
"Whats wrong Cal sweetie?" asked Cal's latest lady, a willowy blonde named Carol.  
  
"It's my best buddy Rocko lady. He walked out the door and didn't even say hello!"  
  
Carol patted his arm. "I'm sure he just didn't see you," she consoled.  
  
Cal's expression brightened. "Yeah. I think Rockoguy might not see too good. He's done that before. And sometimes he can't hear too good, because I call him over and its like he doesn't hear me."  
  
Carol just nodded in agreement, not having the heart to tell Cal his "friend" sounded like he was deliberately ignoring him.  
  
--------------  
  
Rocko and Kruger walked along, trying to find a bar to go to. Unfortunately they weren't having much luck.  
  
"Why don't we try that one?" Rocko said, pointing at a place called the Pink Sneaker.  
  
"Because it's a ^$^%$ gay bar, that's why," replied Kruger, a disgusted expression on his face.  
  
Rocko blinked. "Hmmm, so that's why there weren't any chicks in it that time I went in, and the guy at the bar gave me a weird look when I asked if any hot babes had been in that night."  
  
They walked a few blocks further. "How about that one?" said Kruger, pointing to the oddly named Pali O'Mali's  
  
"Can't. Stupid bartender banned me cuz he didn't like how I was warning some guy about the Irish."  
  
"Riiiight," drawled Kruger. It was no skin off his nose if Rocko didn't like the Irish, but he was glad Brodie wasn't around to hear that.  
  
"Guess its gonna have to be the No Name Bar," said a disappointed Rocko. If there was a place in town that could be called a generic bar it was the No Name. That was the idea of the place, a good old fashioned bar where you could get a drink without having to put up with servers in trendy costumes serving trendy drinks to trendy drinkers while trendy music played.  
  
"Ahh, its not so bad," countered Kruger. "At least the drinks are %$^ cheap."  
  
"And there is that waitress with the big hooters," mused Rocko. "What the hell, sure," he said with a shrug of his shoulders, and the pair continued down the street.  
  
------------  
  
Jesse walked into the Oil Can. The club's name came from its former life as an auto repair shop. Other than sticking a bar and small kitchen near the back, and a slightly raised plywood stage by the front door, the owners had done little to the place. The tables and chairs were old, the floor and walls dingy, and the food crappy. But Jesse wasn't there for the décor. She was there to see Lisa's band, the Wichita Cybermen, perform. ("We originally called ourselves the Wichita Linemen, but then we realised everyone would think we were a country band and changed the name," Lisa had told her.) She shared a smile and a wave with Lisa as she walked past the stage, where Lisa and the band were doing their final checks before starting their set.  
  
Jesse let out a small sigh as she spotted a familiar couple sitting at one of the tables. She wasn't all that surprised to see Nitz and Kimmy, but had kind of hoped they wouldn't be there that night. Oh well, there are worse things in the world than being around the Ditzy Redhead, she thought as Nitz waved her over. "Hey guys."  
  
"Hey Jess," greeted Nitz. "We kinda figured you'd be here."  
  
"Yeah," she said as she sat down. "No way was I going to pass up a chance to see Lisa onstage."  
  
"How are you two getting along?" asked Kimmy.  
  
"Great," Jesse replied. "Of course anyone would be better than Charity."  
  
Kimmy nodded. "Everyone likes Lisa, so I'm not surprised, and I hear that Charity person was kind of odd."  
  
Jesse grinned. "That's putting it mildly. Frankly I'm surprised I didn't end up going nuts after rooming with her." Seeing a waitress pass by she flagged her down and ordered a beer.  
  
As the trio waited for the band to start they sat and chatted about what was going on around State U. and how their classes were going. They had talked for about ten minutes when the guitarist for the Wichita Cybermen came to the mic and with a simple, "Hi, we're the Wichita Cybermen," started their set.  
  
As the band charged into their opening song Jesse shook her head and smiled. She had surprised herself. She'd actually managed to sit and make small talk with Kimmy without getting the urge to lunge across the table and strangle her.   
  
Seeing her obvious amusement Nitz caught her eye and raised an eyebrow.  
  
Private joke, she mouthed back at him. Turning her attention back to the stage Jesse liked what she saw. It was obvious the quartet had put in a lot of work into their music, as their playing was tight, and the grins on their faces showed they were enjoying themselves. Of course she paid extra attention to Lisa, and seeing and hearing her play live confirmed Jesse's suspicions that she was a great bassist.  
  
The trio clapped enthusiastically as the band's set came to an end. "That's not usually my kind of music," said Kimmy, "but they seem pretty good at that post rock kind of thing."  
  
"And here I thought they were doing neo-prog," replied Nitz.  
  
"Well, I think we can all agree that it's not nu-metal," added Jesse. "And here's the star of our show," she said as Lisa walked over to their table.  
  
"Thank you, thank you," Lisa said, taking a bow.   
  
Kimmy stood up and pulled her cousin into a hug. "It's so great to see you! We go to the same school yet we never see each other, we're so busy!"  
  
"Yeah, we've got to get together more often. So, you guys liked the set?" The others nodded. "Great! So, are you gonna hang around for a bit?"  
  
Jesse shook her head. "Sorry, but I've gotta run. I've got some stuff to read for class tomorrow. Besides, I've seen the guys you're opening for before, and I thought they sucked."  
  
"Aah, that's too bad. I'd kinda hoped you could hang around for a couple of drinks, but I guess school's got to come first."  
  
"Well, one of these days we'll have to sit and knock a few back when we both have the time." Jesse stood up, said "Later guys," and headed for the door.  
  
Nitz stood up as well. "I'll be back in a few minutes," he said. "I need to use the, um, facilities."  
  
"So, how are things going with you and him?" asked Lisa, cocking a thumb at Nitz as he walked towards the washrooms.  
  
"Really well, I think. Nitz is such a nice guy, and he seems to be really understanding about how busy I am."  
  
"Well, I'm sure he's on cloud nine, getting a chance to go out with you. I mean, the guy has had a crush on you forever."  
  
Kimmy's eyes widened. "Nitz...has a crush on me?"  
  
Lisa nodded slowly. "Yeah, for years. Hell, I knew he had one before I even knew who he was. It seemed like every time I'd visit you he'd walk past your place at least once."  
  
Kimmy blushed, a sheepish smile on her face. "Well, I guess that explains why he was always there to help out last year, and why he listened to me go on and on about Mark, and worrying about my auditions and all that."  
  
Lisa wasn't at all surprised that Kimmy hadn't known about the crush. Her cousin was self-absorbed to the point of obliviousness at times. She had told Lisa over the summer about her shock at finding out Mark Johnson, who had been one of the senior Drama students at State U. and who Kimmy had had a crush on, was gay. Lisa had barely stifled her laughter. She had met Mark a couple of times through a mutual acquantance and knew he made no secret of being gay, or having an ongoing relationship with a fellow male student. Yet her cousin had managed to totally ignore the anything but subtle clues about his preference for two years.  
  
Of course it didn't help that Kimmy was always trying to do too many things at once. Lisa often had a hard time believing Kimmy even had time to eat and sleep, let alone have a relationship with someone, given her classes and the numerous activities she took part in. She put such pressure on herself, yet Lisa knew from personal experience that Kimmy often had trouble handling that very pressure. She hoped her cousin would finally realise she needed to ease back a bit before she hurt herself or someone else.  
  
----------------  
  
"'...and if you don't wan' someone grabbin' yer ass then don't wear that,' I told her," said Rocko, prompting roaring laughter from Kruger. Their table was covered with a large collection of empty glasses and bottles, and it was obvious both of them were very drunk.  
  
"Like thish one," slurred Kruger, making a grab for Maria, one of the waitresses, as she walked by. She darted out of the way of his grab and gave him a glare before walking over to the front door, where the No Name Bar's bouncers were standing.  
  
"Guys, could you please toss those two?" she asked, pointing at Rocko and Kruger. "That's the third time the one in the leather jacket has tried to grab me, and the other one keeps dropping stuff on the floor so he can try and look up my skirt."  
  
"I thought you were gonna stop serving them," said the taller of the two bouncers, a heavily muscled man with "MOTHER" tatooed on each forearm.  
  
"I did!" shot back Maria. "But the one in the t shirt keeps grabbing any glass or bottle with even a little bit of booze left in it. He even drank from one with a cigarette in the bottom!"  
  
"Well, looks like we're probably gonna have to do it the hard way," said the shorter bouncer, rubbing the back of his shaved head. The pair walked over to Kruger and Rocko's table. "Okay you two! Time to pack it up for the night."  
  
Rocko stood up in indignation. "This is America buddy! You can't make me leave! I gots rights." He turned to a familiar giant bottle of whiskey he saw sitting at a nearby table. "Isn't that right Bobby?"  
  
"You tell them Rocko," replied the bottle, giving him a thumbs up.  
  
The two bouncers looked at each other, bemused looks on their faces, and shrugged. "Your choice buddy," said the larger one.  
  
"Hey, Bobby, help!" called out Rocko as the bouncers lept at him.  
  
"I'm sorry Rocko," said an apologetic Bobby Whiskey. "But I'm an alcohol induced hallucination, so I'm not much help in a barroom brawl."  
  
"Dammit!" growled Rocko as he took a swing at one of the bouncers.  
  
"Don't worry, Rocko," called out Kruger as he staggered to his feet, brandishing an empty beer mug. "I'll help youse and that identical twin of yoursh who sez the exact same #$^%$ things at the same ##%# time you do out against those four guysh!"  
  
The bartender shook his head as he reached for the phone. As he dialed 911 he hoped the cops got there before the two idiots broke too much, or the bouncers broke them.  
  
--------------------  
  
Nitz trod blearily towards the front steps of the police station. Just as he was about to walk up the steps he noticed a figure ahead of him, and his eyes widened when he realised whom it was. "Jesse?"  
  
Jesse was equally surprised. "Nitz, what are you doing here?"  
  
"Rocko," he replied in a disgusted tone. "He called me up to get his butt out of jail. As usual he's been drinking all night, and this time he managed to get in a fight with some bouncers."  
  
"I'm here to get Kruger. Phoned me up a bit ago, saying he got arrested for fighting." Her expression of annoyance matched Nitz's. "I'm surprised he could even remember my number he sounded so wasted. Brodie's at some 24 hour Oliver Stone film festival tonight, so I'm the one who has to come clean up after him."   
  
Nitz's expression changed from annoyance to thoughtfulness. "Hmm, Kruger gets arrested for fighting, and so does Rocko. You don't suppose...."  
  
Jessed groaned. "That they got into trouble together? Oh joy. That's all this town needs, those two teaming up to go bar hopping." She pulled open the police station door. "Well, lets go inside and find out if our worst nightmare has been realised," she sighed.  
  
It didn't take long to confirm that Kruger and Rocko had been arrested together. "We normally would just let them sleep it off in the drunk tank," said the officer manning the front desk. "But tonight we've got a full house, so we're trying to get the less dangerous idiots out of here."  
  
"I don't suppose either of them have enough money in their wallets to bail them out," said Nitz.  
  
The officer reached into a box and pulled out Rocko and Kruger's wallets. "Take a look," he said. A quick look showed Kruger's wallet contained 13 dollars and 62 cents, while Rocko's held 7 dollars and 2 cents, along with, inexplicably, 37 dollars of Monopoly money.  
  
Nitz and Jesse looked at each other, let out a long sigh in unison, and reached for their own wallets.  
  
"By the way we have a debit card machine now, in case you don't have enough cash on you," the officer added helpfully.  
  
------------------------  
  
Jesse grunted as she dragged the totally sloshed Kruger towards Chilton Hall. It was becoming a real pain in the behind to keep him on track. "Come on! I'd like to actually get some sleep tonight!"  
  
"Goooood ooole Jesse," Kruger slurred, stumbling towards one of the benches on the quad. "What would we do without ya?" He staggered to the bench and flopped down crookedly on it. "Me, and ole Foureyes Brodie, and Mr. Nitz wit' the hat."  
  
Jesse stuck her hands on her hips and growled in annoyance. "I really don't have time for this. C'mon, get off your butt and let's go!" Her eyes narrowed in what was rapidly becoming anger as he shook his head.  
  
"Uhuh, no way. I gotta tell ya somethin' first."  
  
"Whatever the hell it is, it can wait until tomorrow!"  
  
"Naaaaaah. I gotta tell youse now." He looked down and said in an almost sad tone,"If I wait 'til tomorrow then I won't be ineberated, inebreatin', or whatever it is ya call it, and then I won't tells ya."  
  
Jesse threw up her hands and with a loud sigh sat down beside him. It was obvious the only way she'd ever get him to bed, and get herself to bed, was to find out whatever it was he had to say. "So talk," she said in a resigned tone.  
  
"I love you," he said simply.  
  
She rolled her eyes. "Right, sure. Come on Kruger, let's go." She rose to leave, but he gently grabbed her arm to stop her.  
  
"Itsh true. I've loved you just about from the minute I met ya." He laughed drunkly. "But the only way I could tell you was to get reaaally drunk. And I'm really, really, really, really druuuuuuuunk."  
  
He's actually serious, she thought as she sat back down.  
  
He looked at her through his alcohol-induced haze. "Firsh time I saw you, I thought, 'Whatta great pieca ass. Gotta try 'n get somma that.' But then ole Foureyes Brodie an' me started rappin' with ya, and you didn't take any crap from us." That most rare of sights, a genuine smile, broke out on his face. "Not only were you so hot, you had brains, and knew howta use 'em, and you didn't take shit from noone. So I fell for ya, couldn't help myself." He looked back towards the ground again.  
  
"Why didn't you say anything?" she asked softly.  
  
"Cuz I knew you wouldn't feel tha same." He shakily wagged a finger at her. "I could tell." He brought his head up again, looking off into the distance. "Chick like you wouldn't be interested in a $#^$^$ like me. If we did gettit on it wud only last a little bit, for I'd do somethin' thatta make you hate me." He staggered to his feet. "Havin' you as a friend is justbout as good, 'cause I get ta be round ya even if I know I'll never have ya." He laughed drunkenly again and started shuffling towards the front doors of Chilton Hall. "C'mon. Lesh go home. I gotta go take a whiz anyways."  
  
Jesse sighed as she walked after him. She should have guessed Kruger had a thing for her. There had been at least a couple of times when his usual cynicism and nasty wit had seemed just a little bit harsher when her annoyance with Nitz and his Kimmy obsession had come up. Other times there was just something about the way he looked at her when he thought she wasn't looking that had seemed almost like longing. Now she knew that it had been something more than her imagination.  
  
She also knew Kruger was right. She liked him as a friend, but she wasn't particularly physically attracted to him. It was hard enough imagining a one-night stand with him, let alone any sort of extended romantic relationship.  
  
As if my life isn't complicated enough, she thought to herself.  
  
------------------------  
  
Nitz gave out a relieved sigh as he and Rocko finally reached the Alpha Alpha frat house. Guiding Rocko back there hadn't been much trouble once he'd convinced his drunken friend to stop singing at the top of his lungs. However, the fact that Rocko spent most of the trip having a rambling one sided conversation with someone named Bobby had kind of freaked Nitz out. Especially when Rocko had thanked Bobby for always being there when he needed him.  
  
At least we won't be waking anyone up, he thought as he rang the doorbell. Loud music blared out of the windows, along with the sound of lots of people all talking at once. A broad shouldered, blonde haired man Nitz had seen once or twice before soon opened the door. His name, if Nitz remembered correctly, was Braun, although Nitz didn't know if that was his first or last name.  
  
"Hey man," greeted Braun. He chuckled as he saw who was with Nitz. "So, Brother Rocko got pissed again."  
  
Nitz nodded wearily. "Yeah, and he got busted by the cops for fighting in some bar. They let him leave because they've got a full house tonight."  
  
"Thanks for bringing him back." Braun turned to Rocko. "Do you need help getting to your room?" he asked.  
  
"Uh-uh," replied Rocko, shakily shaking his head. "But can Bobby come too?" he asked, waving at the air beside him.  
  
Braun stood for a moment in confusion, blinking at the empty space beside Rocko. "Ummm, sure Rocko. Bobby can stay, if you want," he finally answered.  
  
"That's good. C'mon Bobby." With that Rocko made his way unsteadily up the stairs.  
  
Braun shook his head as he watched Rocko walk away. "Anyways, did you have to bail Rocko out?" Nitz nodded. "Wait here, I'll be back in a second." Braun dashed off into the kitchen, and soon came back with a roll of bills. "This should cover it. Its our 'get Rocko out of the can' fund. Knew we'd need it sooner or later."  
  
"Geez, thanks," said Nitz. He'd been worried about getting the money back from Rocko. After all he didn't want to have to ask his parents for more money to cover things this month. They likely wouldn't be too happy with him bailing out Rocko.   
  
"Don't mention it. Besides, most of its Rocko's anyway." Both young men laughed.  
  
------------------------  
  
Jesse walked down the hall towards Kruger and Brodie's dorm room. Looking in the open door she wasn't surprised to see Kruger sitting on the edge of his bed, head in his hands. He gave out a loud groan as she walked in.  
  
"Good morning!" she said in a deliberately cheery, and slightly loud, voice.  
  
"Gah, don't #^$%^$ talk so #$#% loud!" He looked up at her, his eyes even more sunken than usual. "I've got a ^^%$@# hangover," he moaned.  
  
"Serves you right," she retorted. "You get me out of bed at 2 a.m. to bust your sorry ass out of jail, which cost me some cash by the way, and I had to drag you back here to make sure you didn't drown in a gutter someplace. So don't expect any sympathy from me." She stifled a snicker as he squinted up at her with a guilty expression on his face.  
  
"I'll pay you back," he grumbled defensively.  
  
"You bet you will." She looked at her watch. "But we'll talk about that later. I've got a class to catch."  
  
As she started out the door Kruger looked up at her. "Hey, uh Jesse?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
The embarrased look on his face almost started her giggling. "Did I say anything #%^$^&% stupid last night? You know, when I was drunk."  
  
She shook her head, a wide grin on her face. "Nothing any more stupid than you usually say. Later dude." She walked out the door and headed towards the elevators.  
  
"Guess I didn't tell her," he muttered.  
  
"Tell who what?" asked Brodie as he walked in.  
  
"None of your ##$#%# business!" Kruger snarled as he reached for an ice pack sitting on his desk. 


	4. Auteur

Episode 4: Auteur  
  
"Gentlemen, behold, one of the most amazing sights you're likely to see this year. Mr. Nitz Walsh actually eating something that doesn't contain beef!"  
  
"Very funny Jesse," Nitz responded with a glare. "I do eat things besides beef."  
  
"Yeah, like white bread," she teased. "But seriously, I never would have guessed you'd go for sushi."  
  
They were sitting in a small sushi bar along with Brodie, Kruger, and Dan. Brodie had invited the group there, even offering to pay for the meal.  
  
"Gimpy and I used to go out for sushi every once and a while," said Nitz as he picked up another piece of sushi from his plate with a pair of chopsticks.   
  
"No Cal and Rocko?" Jesse asked. Nitz shook his head.  
  
"And here I thought you four were $%^^% Siamese quadruplets," said Kruger, prompting the inevitable laughter from Dan.  
  
Nitz winced as he remembered. "We all went the first time I decided to try it out. Rocko had one bite of sushi, ran off to the bathroom to be sick, and then spent the rest of the evening complaining that they wouldn't serve him any sake because he was underage." Nitz winced again and started massaging his temples. "Cal, instead of eating the sushi like you're supposed to, unrolled it and ate each part separately. Afterwards he said he didn't want to have sushi again because it was too much work to eat it."  
  
"Didn't you try to ex...oh, right, we are talking about Cal," said Jesse flatly. She turned to Brodie. "So, what are you trying to butter us up for?"   
  
Dan laughed. "Busted!" he crowed.  
  
"Okay, you're right, I do have an ulterior motive," Brodie said as he pushed his plastic framed glasses further up his nose. "You see, I've got this project...."  
  
"No," said Kruger bluntly. "I'm not gettin' involved in another one of your %$#%# schemes."  
  
"I am not asking anyone to get involved in a 'scheme,'" Brodie replied. "It involves my art. I've got a little film project that I'd like some help with."  
  
Kruger's response was to raise an eyebrow, a "yeah, right" look on his face. "Oh yes, your 'art,'" he said sarcastically.  
  
"Sorry, but no can do," said Dan apologetically. "I've got too much work right now."  
  
"Sure, why not?" said Jesse. "You're doing some sort of extra credit project?"  
  
"Ummm, yeah, something like that," replied Brodie. Jesse noticed the evasion, but decided to say nothing. Getting involved and seeing what Brodie was actually up to was sure to be more fun that calling him on it now.  
  
"Count me in," added Nitz. "Then I'll be able to say someday that I worked on one of the great Rob Brodie's first projects."  
  
Brodie grinned. "Great! I knew I could count on at least some of you guys."  
  
Everyone ignored Kruger as he muttered "Suckers!" under his breath.  
  
--------------------  
  
Nitz sat at his desk thumbing through a book. Since he couldn't be sure how much time Brodie's project would take he wanted to get an early start on his next essay. Brodie had said at the sushi bar the previous night he wanted to start filming early this evening. Finding the passage he wanted Nitz jotted it down on a piece of paper. He was about to reach for another book when a knock on the door interrupted him.  
  
Standing in the doorway was a skinny young man with shaggy blonde hair, a green streak dyed into it. "Hey, hope I'm not disturbing you too much. I'm Fred McKay."  
  
"From 509, right?" replied Nitz.  
  
"Yeah. Look man, I don't wanna cause trouble, so I figured I'd come to you first, since you know the guy. It's Evans."  
  
Nitz nodded. He had been expecting something like this, and was surprised it had taken this long. "So, what's wrong with Cal?"  
  
Fred sighed. "Its not like I want the guy to be sitting there 24/7 waiting for complaints, but he's never available. Either he's not around, or when you try and talk to the guy he doesn't answer his door. Like the other night, a couple of us wanted him to get those idiots in 506 to turn their stereo down. But when we went to his door he wouldn't answer, and we knew someone was there because we heard...well, you know the guy, you can guess the kind of sounds we heard."  
  
"Yes, I can, unfortunately. I'm surprised no one has gone to the RA auditor to complain," said Nitz.  
  
Fred laughed. "If people weren't so lazy around here someone would have already. But if the guy doesn't shape up soon they probably will."  
  
"Look, I'll see what I can do. I can't promise anything," replied Nitz with a shrug.  
  
"Don't expect you to. I just figure its fair to warn the guy before it goes any further, and since you're his friend you'll have a better chance at it than the rest of us."  
  
Nitz shook his head as Fred walked out the door. He had this suspicion that all talking to Cal would do was delay the inevitable.  
  
  
  
------------------------------  
  
Nitz knocked on Cal's door. "Cal, you there?"  
  
"In a minute guy," called out Cal, accompanied by female giggling. Moments later the door opened, and a young woman walked out, pulling down her shirt as she did. As she walked past Nitz she smiled a goofy smile and pulled her long black hair from under her collar.  
  
Nitz walked into Cal's room. Cal was sitting on his bed. Not surprisingly the sheets were a tangled mess. "Hey guy! Wasn't that a nice lady?"  
  
"Uh, sure Cal."  
  
"And she let me...."  
  
"I'm sorry Cal, but this is important. I'm here about your RA work," interrupted Nitz, not wanting to hear about Cal's sex life in explicit detail.  
  
Cal patted Nitz on the arm. "Don't worry guy. My door is always open for you. Except when it's closed guy!"  
  
"Well, that's the thing Cal. People are complaining you're not available enough as a RA, that you're spending too much time on your personal life."  
  
Cal frowned slightly. "Ah guy, you know I like the ladies! And the ladies want to be with me. I can't let them down."  
  
"Yes Cal, I know, but you also have responsibilities," Nitz replied sternly. Noticing Cal's white "bathrobe of office" draped over a chair he had a flash of inspiration. "Great power comes with that robe Cal. And with great power comes great responsibility," he said, pointing at the bathrobe.  
  
Nitz stood for several minutes watching Cal think. "You're right Nitzguy," Cal finally responded. "I have to do a better job, because I'll be letting down the ghost of the Duggler if I don't, and he might come and haunt me!"  
  
Nitz shook his head in amusement. "The Duggler's not dead Cal. He just graduated."   
  
"Oh, so that's why they let me have his room."  
  
Nitz looked at his watch. "Anyways Cal, I've got to go. I'm helping Rob Brodie do some filming, so you'll have to figure out what to do yourself, okay?"  
  
"Sure thing guy. See you later." Cal sat for a moment after Nitz walked out the door, trying to decide what he should do next. His eyes widened, and a smile appeared on his face. The answer was obvious. He'd ask some of his ladies for help. They would probably have some good ideas.  
  
--------------------------  
  
"Nitz, Jesse! Over here!" called out Kimmy. The duo walked over to where Kimmy was standing, and Kimmy and Nitz exchanged a hug. Together they started walking towards the site of Brodie's shoot.  
  
"So, you're starring in Brodie's latest epic?" asked Jesse as they walked along.  
  
Kimmy nodded. "Yes. After all, you can never have too many acting credits on your resume. Besides, I've only got a little role in the new Drama Department production, so I've got the time. I mean, I only have one line in the play, so there's not much to work on, and rehearsals don't start for another couple of days. I wanted the lead, but oh well, you know what they say, there are no small parts, only small players!"  
  
"Uhh, right," replied Jesse, bemused that Kimmy could rattle all that off in one shot without taking a breath. "Did Brodie give you a script? He's given us zip."  
  
"No," replied Kimmy with a frown. "He said that the film is silent, and that he wants me to approach it fresh, with no preconceived notions."  
  
"So, he's going all avant garde on us," said Nitz with a smile.  
  
"Well, you know pretentious Brodie can be," added Jesse.  
  
They soon reached their destination, Cathcart House. The large 3-storey building dated from the early days of State U., and had been a dorm for nursing students, hence its common nickname Catheter House. Its days as a residence had ended years ago, and the State U. adminstration had planned to knock it down and put up a parking garage. However a local historical group had intervened, claiming the building was of historical value and should be preserved. The resulting legal battle was still going on with no end in sight.  
  
They walked in the front door, which opened onto a large lounge area. "Hello everyone," called out Brodie, who was standing at a table covered with a dust cloth, adjusting one of a pair of old 8mm movie cameras sitting on the table. An old couch, also covered by a dust cloth, sat against one wall of the room. Much to Nitz's surprise Rocko was sitting on it.   
  
"So, did you have much trouble getting permission to use this place?" asked Jesse as she walked over to the table.  
  
Brodie shook his head. "No. I kinda thought the admin office would say no because they don't want to encourage people to use it, but it was no problem at all." He handed Kimmy a bag. "Here's what I want you wear. You can go change in the first room at the top of the stairs." With a nod Kimmy started walking up the large staircase just in front of the entrance.  
  
Meanwhile Nitz walked over to talk to Rocko. "So, what are you doing here?"  
  
"Ran into Brodie there, heard what he was doing and decided, hey, what the hell, I'll sit and watch," said Rocko with a shrug. "Even I've gotta take a break from the bars once and a while."  
  
"So you're not here to help."  
  
Rocko laughed. "Me? Yeah, right."  
  
A few minutes later Kimmy walked back down, wearing a pantsuit that looked brand new, but years out of fashion. "Where did you get this old stuff?" she asked.  
  
"I got it from a friend..." he replied.  
  
"Who's the cousin of the guy who did the costumes for Welcome Back Kotter, and that's one of the outfits from the series," interrupted a smirking Jesse.  
  
Brodie chuckled. "No, actually I got them from my friend who does costumes for an amateur theatre group, smartypants," he said in amusement. "Anyways, if everyone's ready, lets get to work."  
  
For the next 3 hours they filmed in various rooms in Cathcart House. Brodie did most of the filming, with Jesse occasionally operating one of the cameras when Brodie wanted to film from two angles at once. The rest of the time she was either setting up one of the cameras for the next shot, or reloading film. Nitz did the lighting, which consisted of little more than putting the lights where Brodie asked and turning them on at the right time. Kimmy found her acting limited to walking around or sittting on the dated furniture in the building with a depressed expression on her face while wearing one of several immaculate but utterly out of date outfits.  
  
Rocko didn't hang around for long. "Geez, if I wanted to see a chick moping around I'd go and sit outside Student Services," he grumbled as he headed out the door. "At least their clothing would be sexier."  
  
Brodie had a wide grin on his face when he announced they were done for the night. "You were great guys," he said. "Everything went off without a hitch."  
  
"Well, its not hard to do a series of shots of someone walking around like a zombie," retorted Jesse. "What exactly is this masterpiece supposed to be about anyways?"  
  
Brodie smiled enigmatically. "Oh, you'll just have to wait and see the finished product. If I do finish it."  
  
"If?" asked Nitz.  
  
"Sometimes you try something and it doesn't work, so you have to abandon it," said Brodie with a shrug.  
  
It didn't take long for the group to load the limited equipment they had used into the beat up old station wagon that Brodie drove. "Well, that was boring," said Jesse as they watched him drive away.   
  
Kimmy nodded in agreement. "I don't even know why he bothered to ask me. You don't need any real acting ability or experience to do what I did tonight."  
  
"He probably asked you because he knew you'd fit the clothes," Jesse replied sarcastically. "I'm too short, and Nitz would look silly in a dress."  
  
"Besides, I wouldn't be caught dead wearing something so old," added Nitz in a tone of exaggerated disgust, making Jesse and Kimmy laugh.  
  
"Well, its late, so I'd better go," said Kimmy. She gave Nitz a peck on the cheek. "Call me tomorrow Nitz. I think I've got some free time tomorrow, so maybe we can go out. See you later!"  
  
"So where does she live anyways?" asked Jesse as they watched Kimmy walk off.  
  
"She and three or four other Drama students rent a place together. It's five or six blocks off campus," replied Nitz. "It's...a nice place," he added, a funny looking grin on his face.  
  
Jesse thought about asking him about his odd expression, but then thought better of it. She really had no interest in knowing what Nitz and Kimmy did when they were alone together, and she had a suspicion that Nitz's goofy smile had something to do with that.  
  
------------------------------------  
  
"What the hell is that?" asked Fred McKay as he stepped out of his dorm room on the way to his morning classes. He followed the sound of loud banging to room 502, where a crowd of other students was standing. They watched as Cal nailed a large board onto the door of his room.   
  
Finishing his nailing Cal looked up and smiled at the assembled crowd. "Hiya peeps. The Calster has some important news for you. This is my new schedule board." He pointed at the board, which had a piece of white plastic attached to it. There was a grid drawn on the plastic, with each of the squares coloured with blue or pink ink. "The blue squares are my RA time, so if you need some RA stuff done come then. The pink squares are times for my ladies. You can come for RA stuff when its ladytime, but if one of my ladies shows up you'll have to leave, okay?" Cal looked past the crowd. "Like right now is ladytime, and there she is right now!" he added happily as a girl with short blonde hair walked up and wrapped her arms around him. Together they walked into Cal's room, slamming the door shut behind them.  
  
Several people looked at the schedule. "Geez, he may have a schedule, but he's got far more time set aside for his girlfriends than his RA job," said one young woman in disgust.  
  
"Yeah, but its better than nothing," replied Fred. "Not much, but still better. Guess Walsh came through."  
  
"Nitz Walsh?" asked the woman. When Fred nodded she grinned. "Now, there's a guy who would have been a better RA choice than Evans. Not that that's saying much."  
  
-------------------------------  
  
"Hmmm, it seems everything is there, and the equipment looks to be in the condition it was signed out in."  
  
"Was there any doubt Dave?" asked Brodie.  
  
  
  
The African American student nodded as he shut one of the video camera cases he had been examining. "In fact, yes. You would be surprised at the disrespect many students show the equipment they have the priviledge of using." He shook his head. "It seems they think that since they are allowed to use it without charge that they may do with it as they wish."  
  
"That sucks. You'd never see me abusing fine equipment like this," said Brodie, patting one of the cases. "See you've dropped the Afro."  
  
Dave nodded, the light glinting off the lenses of his glasses. "Yes, I decided it was time to examine other hair styling options and see what they could tell me about myself." He grinned. "Besides, my new girlfriend likes the shaved look."  
  
"Definitely a good reason," said Brodie as he headed for the door. "Have a good one."  
  
A wide grin appeared on Brodie's face as he walked outside. As he'd expected Dave hadn't even bothered to ask what he had needed the equipment for, just assuming it was for a class related project. Not having to rent pro quality video cameras had saved him a bunch of money.  
  
The second evening of shooting had gone off without a hitch. Brodie had convinced the head of the Physics Department to let him film in the soon to be opened laser lab in exchange for a promise of future help in filming a promo video for it. The brand new high tech control room had been the perfect compliment to the cutting edge fashions Kimmy had worn for the shoot. Brodie chuckled as he remembered the look on Kimmy's face when she'd gave him the clothes back. It had been obvious that she really wanted to hang onto them. Not that he blamed her given how she'd looked in them, especially the green dress.  
  
Tomorrow would be the most important part. He'd rented an editing suite at one of the local video production firms, and he would edit the footage together with his client present. The client had already arranged for the production of the voiceover needed, so it was only a question of getting the right combination of shots arranged to produce the best look for the spot.  
  
"Client," he said softly as he headed towards the Student U-nion for something to eat. "Damn, I love the sound of that word." Hopefully things would work out the way he wanted with this project, and it would be a word he'd be using a lot more.  
  
---------------------------  
  
Jesse sat in her chair, reading a book for her first class tomorrow. Hearing a knock on her door she looked up to find Kimmy standing in the doorway. "Hi. If you're looking for Lisa she's got a class this evening."  
  
"No, I'm looking for you actually," Kimmy replied. She held up a videocassette. "I found out something about Brodie's project that I'm not happy about, and I don't think you and Nitz will be either."  
  
Jesse sighed as she got up from her desk chair. She'd begun to get suspicious about what Brodie was up to, a week having gone by since the last shoot with Brodie saying nothing. Now it seemed she was right to be concerned. "I think Nitz has one of those TV/VCR combos, so lets go and see if he's around." Jesse locked her door, and the two girls walked down the hall to Nitz's dorm room.  
  
"Hi Jesse, Kimmy!" called out a male voice as they approached Nitz's room. It was Chris Douglas, Nitz's current roommate, who was just stepping out the door. The black haired young man was carrying a gym back slung over one shoulder.  
  
"Hi Chris. I guess Nitz is around," said Kimmy.   
  
Chris nodded. "Yeah, he's here. Look, I'd love to talk, but I've got a handball game to go to, so see ya." With a wave he started to run down the hall towards the stairs.  
  
"Now that's the perfect roommate," said Jesse as she watched him go. "The only time he seems to be in his room is if he's sleeping or studying, so he's not around enough to be annoying."  
  
Nitz smiled as the two girls walked in. "Hey guys, whats up?"  
  
"I've found out what Brodie was really working on," said Kimmy, waving the videocassette at Nitz. "A friend of mine saw it, and made me a tape the next time it appeared." She walked over to Nitz's TV/VCR and turned it on, then pushed the cassette into the slot.  
  
The trio watched the brief segment of tape. After it ended they all had annoyed expressions on their faces. "Hmmph, that jerk!" said Jesse in disgust. "He figured he could get away with doing that, and not paying us!"  
  
Nitz punched a fist into his palm. "And you know he didn't do it for free. I think we need to go have a little talk with Mr. Brodie."   
  
Jesse and Kimmy nodded in agreement.  
  
---------------------------  
  
Kruger lay on his bed reading Nietzsche, trying to ignore the sound of Brodie pounding away on an old electric typewriter. Brodie's habit of writing scripts on the old beast, instead of his computer, was one of his more annoying pretensions that Kruger had to put up with. At the sound of footsteps he looked up to see Jesse, Nitz, and Kimmy Burton walking into the room. He smirked at the angry expressions on their faces. "Now see, I #%%$ warned you not to get involved in Brodie's scam," he said to Jesse.  
  
Brodie looked up from his typewriter, a nervous expression on his face. "So guys, what can I do for you?"  
  
Jesse crossed her arms. "Oh, I don't know, how about explaining this!" she said angrily, holding up the videocassette.  
  
"Uhoh," he said, a sheepish grin on his face.  
  
"What, you figured we wouldn't find out, that we, or someone we knew, wouldn't watch TV and spot the TV COMMERCIAL you made with our help!?" growled Nitz. "Made without telling us, or more importantly, paying us?"  
  
"Yeah, what the hell were you thinking, that we'd forget about it if you didn't bring it up again?" added Jesse.  
  
"Well..." said Brodie with a little shrug of his shoulders.  
  
"I'm really disappointed with you Rob," said Kimmy, shaking her head. "Here I thought I was helping a fellow artist develop his craft, but instead I was being exploited like some developing world person for cheap labour. Not that I have any problem with doing a commercial piece, but I'd like to get a fair and equitable wage for it."  
  
"But you know what's even worse dude?" asked Jesse. "You were using State U. equipment to film the video part of it, and you know that's against the rules. Students are prohibited from using State U. equipment for commerical purposes without a lot of paperwork, which I know you didn't go through. You could get yourself, and us, in big trouble if that comes out!"  
  
"So, what do you want me to do?" Brodie asked nervously.  
  
"How about giving use an equal share of the final profits?" asked Kimmy.  
  
"Assuming you haven't spent them already," said Nitz darkly.  
  
"Alright, I'll write you all up a cheque and get it to you tomorrow, okay?" said Brodie in defeat. He shook his head. "Geez, is it so bad for an up and coming filmmaker to take advantage of an opportunity to get some professional credit?"  
  
"Yeah, when it involves jerking your friends around!" snarled Jesse. She spun around and stalked out of the room.  
  
Nitz looked at Brodie, his angry expression turning to one of pity. "Rob, you really blew it. It's no fun having Jesse angry with you. Believe me, I know. C'mon Kimmy."  
  
Kruger smirked as he watched the couple walk out. He turned to Brodie, a smug expression on his face. "You should have been #$^% honest with them, paid 'em something for helping you. But noooooo, you had to get $&% greedy." He walked over and gave Brodie an exaggerated pat on the shoulder. "But hey, don't worry. They'll forgive you. Eventually."  
  
Brodie sighed. "The path of an artist is fraught with peril."  
  
-----------------------------  
  
"Oh, kitties!" exclaimed Cal as he watched the young woman standing by his bed pull down her skirt, revealing her panties.  
  
"Well, I know you like kittens, so I decided you'd like these," said the redhead with a smile. She walked over to Cal and just as she slipped her arms around his neck a loud beeping started. "Whats that?" she asked.  
  
"I'm sorry lady, but you'll have to put your clothes on and leave," responded Cal as he gently pulled her arms from around his neck. He walked over to his desk and turned off the alarm on his desk clock.  
  
"B-but why?" she asked in shock.  
  
"'Cause its RA time lady. Didn't you read my schedule?"  
  
"But Cal honey..." she whined.   
  
"Sorry lady, but with great power comes great responsibility. If I don't do my RA stuff when its time to I'll be letting everybody down."  
  
"Al...alright Cal. Can I come back tomorrow?"  
  
"Sure lady! Just look at my schedule for the right time."  
  
She slipped her clothes back on and walked out the door, her disappointment obvious. As she shut the door she looked at the schedule board hanging from it. "I never should have helped him come up with that thing!" she said in exasperation. 


	5. Undesired

Episode 5: Undesired  
  
"Ouch, good move!"  
  
"Thanks," replied Jesse. She was sitting at a table in the Student U-nion across from Gimpy. A chessboard sat between them. "I was worried I might be rusty. Haven't played in awhile."  
  
"Me neither." Gimpy looked at the board, trying to figure out his next move. "None of my associates seem interested in the game, and Nitz isn't enough of a challenge."  
  
Jesse laughed. "And Rocko and Cal aren't the types to play chess."  
  
Gimpy shuddered, remembering his sole attempt at trying to teach Cal the game. "Never speak of Cal and chess in the same sentence again! Oh, the horror...!"  
  
Jesse laughed again. "That bad?" Gimpy nodded. "Anyways, I'm surprised you made the effort to come over here, instead of having me go over to your place."  
  
Gimpy shrugged. "I didn't want my men to get the wrong idea."  
  
Jesse nodded. "'Girls are the enemy' and all that bullshit." She shook her head. "Geez, you lot act like you're a bunch of ten year olds who still think girls are yucky and have cooties."  
  
A sheepish grin appeared on Gimpy's face. Better change the subject quick, he thought. He wasn't very good at understanding women, and Jesse was no different. "So, no Halloween party for you?"  
  
"Nah, I've got better things to spend money on than dressing up in some silly costume." She took a sip of coffee. "I hear Nitz and the Ditzy Redhead went to a party."  
  
"Yes, at Rocko's frat house," said Gimpy, still contemplating his next move. "Nitz went as Cyclops, from the X Men."  
  
"And I suppose Kimmy went as Jean Grey."  
  
"No," replied Gimpy, shaking his head. "She went as Wonder Woman."  
  
Jesse rolled her eyes and smiled. "Big surprise. She acts like she's a superwoman and tries to do 10 things at once in real life, so why not pretend to be one for a few hours?"  
  
"Can't argue with that," replied Gimpy as he moved his next piece.  
  
----------------------  
  
Kimmy and Nitz danced amongst the crowd on the main floor of the Alpha Alpha frathouse. The building was packed with partygoers dressed in all sorts of costumes, and a few who wore normal clothes. Loud music boomed from a large stereo system that took up one wall of the large living room, and dozens of moving bodies somehow managed to occupy a space that shouldn't have been able to hold them all.  
  
Attending a function put on by a fraternity wasn't something Kimmy usually did. After all, as she'd told Nitz, she considered the typical fraternity "another institution that supports the maintenance of the patriarchial status quo in our society." But the occasional exception like a Halloween party really wouldn't hurt. Besides, where else would one get to see the spectacle of Rocko...dressed up as Rocko. Rocko was wearing the oversized mascot style costume of himself he'd created the year before when he was trying to start a rivalry between State U. and Central State Junior Community College. He already managed to bang the oversized foam head into various objects, and he was sure to cause even more mayhem with it once he started to get drunk.  
  
When the song they were dancing to ended Kimmy said, "Let's take a break, okay?" Nitz nodded his agreement and they moved to the edge of the staircase, which by some unwritten agreement stayed clear of dancers. "Are you having a good time?" asked Kimmy just as the music started again, drowning out her question.  
  
"What?" Nitz yelled.  
  
"I said, are you having a good time?" Kimmy yelled back. She could barely hear Nitz reply yes even though he was obviously shouting. She frowned, realising they'd shout themselves hoarse trying to talk here. "Let's go upstairs."  
  
"Good idea," shouted Nitz. Together they made their way up to the second floor, the wall of sound from downstairs dropping down to a dull throb as they did. "Now, that's better," said Nitz in relief.  
  
"You can say that again. It's like being in a factory down there." Kimmy looked around the hall, taking in the dirty tan carpet and walls that badly needed a new coat of paint. "Not a very interesting place, is it?"  
  
"I don't think decorating is their top priority," said Nitz in amusement. A door at the end of the hall opened, and someone dressed as a cowboy stepped out of what was obviously the bathroom. Nitz and Kimmy stepped to one side to let him pass.  
  
It was obvious to Kimmy that standing there would be kind of distracting if they had to move out of the way every few minutes for people coming down the hall, and she had an idea to do a bit more than just stand there chatting with Nitz. Spotting an open door she grabbed Nitz's hand and pulled him into one of the second floor rooms. "I think its time for a little private discussion," she said.  
  
"Private discussion?" asked Nitz.  
  
Kimmy smiled. She thought it was sweet how Nitz could be a little naïve at times. But he figured out what she meant pretty quickly.  
  
"Ah, I understand," he said after a few seconds. He pushed the door shut. "Some things need to be, ummm, 'discussed' in private." Smiling, he slipped his arms around her and pulled her close.   
  
"You know Cyclops, on Paradise Island they wouldn't allow a man to do what you're doing now," Kimmy said mischieviously as she felt Nitz's hands start to move very slowly down her back.  
  
"Well, fortunately for me this isn't Paradise Island," replied Nitz. "I doubt, my dear Wonder Woman, they'd let me do this either," he added as he moved to kiss her.  
  
Their kiss was brief, the sound of the doorknob rattling drawing their attention. The door swung open and a familiar large-nosed figure, dressed in a police officer costume, walked in. "Woah, like, sooorry dude," mumbled the student Nitz usually refered to as Dave the Stoner, realising someone was already in the room. "I was, like, looking for a place for a bit of herbal refreshment," he added, miming smoking, "if you know what I mean. Didn't wanna put a bummer on your fun."  
  
"That's all right," said Kimmy. "But you might want to sneak outside to do it. After all whoever this room belongs to might not like people smoking in here."  
  
"Yaah, I never thought of that," Dave drawled. "Don't wanna piss the frat dudes off." He reached into a pocket and pulled out a couple of leaflets. "There's gonna be, like, a pro-legalisation rally in a couple of days, and this has got the 411 on it. Maybe ya wanna come?"  
  
Nitz took a quick look at the leaflet. "I'll think about it," he said.  
  
"Cooool. Later." With a wave Dave walked out the door.  
  
The couple stood for a moment after Dave left, smiling at each other. "So, your room or mine?" Kimmy finally asked.  
  
"Better make it yours. There always seems to be someone walking into mine." Nitz shook his head. "Can you believe that? Dave the Stoner, dressed up as a cop? He'd win the 'State U. student most likely to get arrested' award if there was such a thing."  
  
"I doubt he would see the irony," replied Kimmy as she took Nitz's arm and they walked out of the room.  
  
"I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't realise he's dressed up as a cop," added Nitz with a smirk, drawing a chuckle from Kimmy.  
  
-------------------  
  
Of course the Halloween party at the Alpha Alpha frathouse was far from the only one that night. State U.'s Alpha Sigma Sigma sorority was staging theirs in a rented hall just off campus. Much to the chagrin of many of the other male guests Cal was there, and as usual was the centre of most of the female attention. Fortunately for Cal none of the male guests had usable weapons as part of their costumes. Especially the guy dressed as Elmer Fudd given that Cal wore a blue bunny costume. His "shotgun" wouldn't have even made a good club, being just a couple of cardboard tubes glued together.  
  
Cal was of course oblivious to the hostility. He was having too much fun with the ladies. He'd had a good time so far dancing with a bunch of them, and now he was taking a break with a large group of them at a table near the dance floor. But even as he did he was keeping an eye out for any interesting ladies he might have missed.  
  
"Who's that lady?" asked Cal, pointing to a young woman standing by the punch bowl. She was dressed up as Little Red Riding Hood, wearing a red hooded cape over a long red dress. Her dark brown hair was tied in a long braid hanging over one shoulder.  
  
"Oh, that's Karen Lasky," said one of the sorority girls standing near Cal. "She's not a member of Alpha Sigma Sigma, but she's a friend of one of our members."  
  
"I think its time to go get some punch," said Cal, and he started to walk towards the punch bowl.  
  
Several of the young women he had been sitting with sighed as they watched him walk away. It seemed Cal had had set his sights on a new "nice lady."  
  
Cal walked over to the bowl and ladled himself out a glass of punch. "Hey lady," he said in his usual friendly tone.  
  
"Hey," she replied.  
  
Cal took a sip of his punch. Much to his surprise Karen walked away, heading towards a couple of women sitting at one of the tables.  
  
Cal blinked in confusion. That wasn't what was supposed to happen. She was supposed to be excited to meet him, and ask if she could spend some time with him. Just like the other ladies Cal was interested in did when he started to talk to them. He stood for a minute trying to figure out why she'd walked away. Maybe she wasn't feeling well or something like that. Yes, that was probably it. He'd just have to try again. Maybe he could run into her tomorrow or the next day when she was feeling better.  
  
Confident he would have better luck next time he walked back towards the group of women he'd been socialising with. After all, he could still have lots of fun with the other nice ladies before the night was through.  
  
------------------------  
  
It was a couple of days after the Halloween party when Cal ran into Karen Lasky again. He was in the main library, looking for some books for one of his assignments when he saw her. As before she had her brown hair tied into a long braid, and Cal thought she looked very desirable in a pair of bluejeans and a State U. sweatshirt. With a smile he walked towards her. He was confident that this time she'd want to go out with him. Besides, one of the books he needed was on the shelf she was browsing.  
  
Cal came to a stop beside her, and started looking for the book he needed. Seeing it was in he grabbed it, and said "Hey lady," in his cheeriest voice.  
  
Karen smiled. "And hello to you," she said. She bent down and grabbed a book from one of the lower shelves. Nodding to herself, she added the book to several others she was carrying under one arm, and started walking towards the staircase to the main floor and the checkout desk.  
  
Cal let out a whine as he watched her walk away. He just couldn't understand what was going on. She had walked away again, for the second time! That certainly wasn't what he expected to happen. This kind of thing just didn't happen to him. Confused, he leaned heavily on the bookshelf, making it wobble.  
  
"Young man, please be careful. We don't want that shelf knocked over yet again," said one of the library staff as she pushed a cart of books past him.  
  
"Oh, sorry librarylady," he said apologetically. He stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do next. He soon decided that there was only one answer, and started towards the stairs.  
  
---------------------------------  
  
"Not enough Bruce Campbell," muttered Nitz as the end credits of the movie Moontrap rolled across the TV screen. Kimmy was busy with some Drama Dept. thing that evening, so he had decided to take it easy and rent a video, choosing the low budget sci fi production since he hadn't seen it before. He decided not to mention watching it to Gimpy, since it starred Walter Koenig of Star Trek fame. The last time he'd watched something with a Star Trek connection and told Gimpy the hacker hadn't talked to him for a week.  
  
As Nitz hit the rewind button on his remote control Cal walked into the room, a large frown on his face. "Hey guy, I've got a problem. Can you help me out Nitzguy?"  
  
"Sure, if I can," said Nitz with a nod, leaning forward in his chair. "So what's your problem exactly?"  
  
"I'm having lady troubles guy," said Cal forlornly. "This lady, I want to go out with her guy, but she doesn't wanna."  
  
Nitz stared at Cal. "So, let me get this straight. You're upset because some girl isn't interested in you. Even though you've no doubt got a bunch of other girls just lining up for the chance."  
  
"Yeah guy."  
  
"But Cal, not every girl is interested in you." And thank goodness Kimmy is one of them, thought Nitz.   
  
Cal pouted. "I've never wanted any of those ladies guy. But I want this pretty lady, and she's not interested. That's never happened before!"  
  
Nitz looked skeptical. "You're not seriously telling me you've never been rejected by a girl before."  
  
Cal shook his head. "Never. Well, there was the time I tried to be New Cal because of the I Hate Cal newsgroup and the ladies didn't like me anymore, but when I went back to being Old Cal all the ladies liked me again, so that doesn't really count."  
  
Knowing Cal as well as he did, a suspicion suddenly came to mind. "Well, have you actually tried to ask her out?"  
  
Cal's expression brightened. "You mean like they do on TV guy?"  
  
Why am I not surprised, thought Nitz as Cal confirmed his suspicion. "Sure Cal. Most of us actually have to ask a girl before she'll go out with us."  
  
"Okay guy, I'll try it!" Cal replied, nodding his head enthusiastically. "Thanks Nitzguy, you always have the best advice!" he said as he walked out the door.  
  
"Glad to help," Nitz called after him. He heard Cal exchange greetings with Jesse, who then walked in.   
  
"Hey Nitz," she said rather unenthusiastically as she sat down on his bed. "You mind if I hang around for a bit?"  
  
"Not at all." He looked at her for several moments, taking in the unhappy expression on her face. "So, I take it you're having problems."  
  
Jesse sighed, a morose expression on her face. "Yeah, I just got my latest French test back. I barely passed." She shook her head. "I'm having really lousy luck with the class. I just can't seem to get my head around all those verb tenses and gender things."  
  
"I'm surprised you didn't take Chinese and get easy marks."  
  
"What would the point of that be? I already speak Cantonese, and State U. doesn't offer Mandarin. I wanted to learn something I don't know." A hint of a smile crossed her lips. "I was gonna take introductory Japanese, but the Japanese teacher ran off with one of the accountants from the administration office."  
  
"I heard it was someone from maintenance," replied Nitz, prompting a chuckle from Jesse. "Anyways, its still early, so maybe your marks will improve."  
  
"Maybe, but I don't want things to get out of hand. I'd hate to have to take summer school to get the language credit. And I hate doing poorly in a class just on principal." She looked at Nitz speculatively. "You wouldn't by any chance...."  
  
"Sorry Jess," Nitz said, shaking his head. "I took German in high school, and that's what I took here."  
  
"Heh, I took German in high school too. But I didn't have a choice. Our school was too small to offer more than one language, so it ended up being German because the boys' Phys. Ed teacher spoke German."  
  
"If you're really worried you should probably hunt up a tutor. I'm sure the French Club could probably recommend someone."  
  
"Yeah, you're right." Jesse pulled up her legs and rested her chin on her knees. "Thanks for listening to me mope."  
  
"No problem. Besides, it makes a nice change from me making you listen to my problems."  
  
Jesse frowned. "Yeah, you haven't done that in a while. I hope what I said a while back didn't make you gunshy about asking for help."  
  
"No, it didn't, not at all," replied Nitz, waving his hands. "Things have been going good so far this year, and I haven't really had any problems I couldn't figure out on my own. Of course going out with Kimmy probably has something to do with it." A goofy little smile appeared on his face.  
  
There's that smile again, thought Jesse. She had a suspicion what it meant, but didn't want to find out for sure. "Well good. Because if you ever need help its there, all you have to do is ask."  
  
"And that goes both ways," Nitz responded. "I'm here to help if you ever need it. After all, besides being your friend I owe you."  
  
"Greetings friend Nitz!" Nitz and Jesse looked over at the computer, seeing the inevitable webcam window with Gimpy's face in it.  
  
"Hi Gimpy. Whatever your problem is, I'm sure I can solve it," said Nitz with a confident grin on his face. "I'm on kind of a roll today."  
  
"Problem? I don't have a problem. I just wanted to see what you were up to since I haven't talked to you in a couple of days."  
  
"Oh. Well, I guess that's probably a record for us."  
  
"Indeed." Gimpy frowned as Jesse moved into camera range. "So, the agent of the Dark Side is with you," he said grumpily.  
  
"My, aren't we pissy today," was Jesse's amused response. She looked at Nitz, smiling at his questioning look. "We had a chess game the other night, and I beat him."  
  
Nitz nodded in understanding, a wide grin on his face. "A girl, he was beaten by a girl," he said in a reasonable approximation of Gimpy's voice.  
  
Jesse laughed. "Girls are the enemy!" she said in unison with Nitz, and they both laughed.  
  
"Hmph, I'll ask you not to mock my personal beliefs," replied Gimpy tartly.  
  
"So Nitz, should we stop mocking his personal beliefs?" asked Jesse.  
  
Together they shook their heads. "Naaaah, I don't think so," said Nitz.  
  
"Well, I'm not going to sit here and be insulted! G Prime, signing off!" said Gimpy as the webcam window winked out.  
  
Jesse and Nitz smiled at each other. "Somehow I don't think Gimpy was taking all that too seriously," Nitz mused.  
  
"Yeah, I think I saw a trace of a smile on his face as he signed off," replied Jesse. She sat back down on the bed, and her smile became wistful. It was times like this that made her glad she had patched things up with Nitz. She'd come in feeling down, but a few minutes talking with Nitz, and helping him tease Gimpy, had made her feel a lot better. Sure, she could have talked with Lisa about things, or even Kruger or Brodie in a pinch. But there was just something about Nitz that always made her feel just a little bit more comfortable about opening up about her feelings.  
  
---------------------------  
  
Cal didn't wait long before putting Nitz's advice into action. The morning after he talked to his best friend he went looking for Karen. Finding her at an outdoor table on the quad he sat down on the bench opposite her. "Good morning Karenlady. I was wondering if you'd like to go out with me?"  
  
She smiled at him, but shook her head. "It's very nice of you to ask, but no, I'm not interested."  
  
Cal walked away less than happy, but determined to try again. He knew how much a lot of women liked flowers, so the next day he went out and bought some flowers and tried again.  
  
"How nice. I really like daisies," said Karen as she admired the flowers. "But I'm afraid the answer is still no."  
  
Frustrated but still hopeful Cal tried again the next day, going all out. He bought her not only flowers but some candy, and he wore a nice shirt and tie, although he wore them over his usual shorts and sandals.  
  
But the answer was once more the same, "No."  
  
Karen wasn't surprised to see Cal approach her for a fourth time the next day. "Hi," she said as he sat down beside her on a bench on the quad. "Are you going to ask again?"  
  
Cal shook his head. "No lady," he replied, a serious look on his face. "I'm gonna ask why you won't go out with me."  
  
"I'm sorry, but I'm just not interested," she said sincerely.  
  
"But why?" asked Cal plaintively, reminding her of a little kid.  
  
"I'm just not. I know you're a nice guy, and a couple of my friends say how great you are at satisfying a woman, but I'm just not interested in you." A nervous smile appeared on her face. "Besides, there's this guy I'm interested in, and I've finally gotten the courage together to ask him out."  
  
"Oh, I can understand that," said Cal. If there was some other guy that made sense.  
  
"In fact, there he is over there!" she said excitedly. "I sent him a note asking him to meet me here today. I just hope he's interested!" She jumped to her feet. "I'm sorry, but I have to run. See you around."  
  
Cal watched her jog away. He'd tried, but it hadn't worked. It seemed he had finally experienced what he knew other people did, being attracted to someone who just wasn't attracted back.   
  
When she came to a stop Cal's eyes widened in disbelief. "She wants to go out with that guy, instead of me?"  
  
-----------------------------  
  
"So, you lookin' for the schedule for that hands on introduction to lesbianism seminar?"   
  
Jesse turned from the bulletin board she was looking at towards Kruger. "Actually Kruger that was last week," she responded with a straight face. "This one girl, she sure knew what to do with her tongue. Stuff like that makes lesbianism seem really appealing."  
  
"#$%, can't I ever make you squirm?" asked Kruger with a laugh.  
  
"You'll have to try better than that," she said with a grin. "Actually I'm looking for a French tutor. I'm doing lousy in that class, and I wanna get a hand on it before things get too bad."  
  
Kruger straightened up a bit from his usual slouch, confidence in his eyes. "Stop your looking. You've got the best ^%&% choice right in front of you."  
  
"You speak French," said Jesse skeptically, one eyebrow raised.  
  
"Yeah, there's something about reading Satre and Camus in the original language that's kinda appealing." A leer appeared on Kruger's face. "'Sides, lotsa babes like it when you whisper something in French in their ear. You can be talking about your ass and they think its romantic and shit 'cuz its French, and they get all hot and bothered."  
  
Jesse shook her head and let out an exaggerated sigh. "Kruger, you are most certainly the king of romance," she said sarcastically. "However do women resist you?"  
  
Kruger chuckled, not at all offended by her dig. "Seriously, if you want some help I'll do it. And for free too."  
  
"Sure, why not? But come on, I should pay you."  
  
Kruger's expression became one of near indignation. "No way, I will not take a $^&%^ cent. I'm doin' this cuz you're my friend. If you wanna buy me lunch or a beer sometime for helping you, fine, but no $&% way am I taking your money."  
  
"Okay, okay! Far be it from me to turn down free tuition!"  
  
"Good." Kruger looked over Jesse's shoulder. "Heh, look at Evans," he said, pointing across the quad. "He %&^ looks like his best friend just $%^% died."  
  
Jesse turned to look at an obviously upset Cal. "Well, I just saw Nitz a couple minutes ago over by the Student U-nion, so that's probably not it." She looked back at Kruger, a knowing smirk on her face. "But hey, what do you care about Cal anyways?"  
  
"Oh, I ^#% don't," replied Kruger, shaking his head. "Its just that the guy always seems so $&% happy that its weird to see him look like that. 'Course if I got laid as much as he does I'd probably be smiling like a #%%& nut too."  
  
Jesse made a face. "Ick, the last thing the world needs is another Cal. Even if it meant the national cyncism index dropped 75% with your contribution absent."  
  
"Damn, you are $&%^ on today," said Kruger appreciatively.  
  
"Why thank you," said Jesse with a small bow. "It's nice to have an appreciative audience. And don't forget, I'll be here for the rest of the week, performing daily."  
  
Kruger grinned broadly as he reached for his cigarettes.  
  
---------------------------  
  
"Hey best buddies," called out Cal forlornly as he walked to where Rocko and Nitz were standing. Rocko had been trying to convince Nitz to tag along to a local bar to watch a pay for view boxing match that evening, even though Nitz wasn't much on boxing.  
  
"Hey Cal," replied Nitz. "So, how did things go with that girl you were trying to ask out?"  
  
"Its really sad Nitzguy. She said no, and she's asked some guy to be her boyfriend." Cal's frown deepened. "I don't get it guy. Why would she go out with this other guy when she could have me?"  
  
"I'm sorry to hear that Cal," said Nitz. "But hey, there are still lots of other girls who want to go out with you."  
  
"Yeah, way too damn many," grumbled Rocko.  
  
Cal looked over Rocko's shoulder. "Here she comes with her boyfriend, and that makes me really sad. So I'm gonna go someplace where I can't see them, and then I won't be so sad, okay?"  
  
"Sure Cal, if that will make you feel better," said Nitz in a sympathetic tone of voice.  
  
"Right, like I give a rat's ass whether you hang around or not," growled Rocko.  
  
"Okay best buddies, see you later!" replied Cal as he turned and headed towards the main library building.  
  
"So, what's this chick like?" asked Rocko as he watched Cal leave.  
  
"Brunette with a long braid," replied Nitz. "That's her there," he said as he pointed at an approaching couple.  
  
Rocko looked in the direction Nitz was pointing. His eyes widened when he saw who was walking with Karen. "For once, I gotta agree with Cal," he said with a shake of his head. "Look who that chick is walking with. Cal may be a wad, but at least he's a good looking wad. But that wussy...."  
  
Nitz nodded. It was Spud, Gimpy's nemesis at Tekerson, dressed in his usual gold Star Trek captain's shirt and black pants. As Rocko had said, he was no competition for Cal in the looks department. He was short, scrawny, homely, and lacked a trace of even Gimpy's peculiar sort of charisma. It wasn't hard to guess why he had the nickname Spud. "Well, you know what they say, love is blind."  
  
"More like 'love is strange,' like they sing in that old song," countered Rocko.  
  
"You may have a point," mused Nitz. 


	6. The First Time

The First Time  
  
Sgt. Rocko ducked as a hail of bullets narrowly missed his head. Throwing himself behind cover he thrust his submachine gun around a piece of rubble. "He's in the window!" shouted one of his men.  
  
Very carefully he peeked over the debris and spotted the enemy soldier reloading his rifle. Bringing his Thompson to bear Sgt. Rocko shouted "Eat lead and die!" and opened fire. The burst caught the man dead on in the chest and he fell from the window with a piercing scream.  
  
Sgt. Rocko cautiously climbed to his feet. All was quiet now but he advanced carefully towards the building, followed by the rest of his squad. Suddenly a young blonde woman appeared from a first floor door. "Oh, we are saved! Thank you!" she cried in English with a French accent. More women appeared behind her, and like her were dressed only in various items of lingerie.  
  
"Sgt. Rocko, U.S. Army. Glad to be of service," he replied.  
  
"You, Sgt. Rocko, have saved us, the women of the Chat Noir brothel, from those 'orrible Nazis. However can we make it up to you?" replied the first woman.  
  
Slinging his submachine gun over his shoulder he grabbed her around the waist. "Well, you could have wild sex with me all night long."  
  
She looked at him with an expression of utter adoration. "Oh yes Sgt. Rocko, yes! We all will!"  
  
His gaze swept over the women. "Well, if you insis...."  
  
BUUUUUUUUUUZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ  
  
Cursing Rocko smashed his fist into the clock radio. "Dammitt!! My best dream in weeks and that stupid piece of crap ruins it!!!! @#%#!!!!!" Angrily he flung the radio to the floor in a corner of the room, to join a half dozen others that had ruined his fun this semester.  
  
Rocko quickly dressed in his favourite red and white t-shirt and blue jeans. This morning's class was one he always made sure to catch, as there was a hottie in it who always wore a tight skirt and a low cut blouse. Not that she was doing it for him. He figured she was trying to score points with the professor who taught the class. But nothing said he couldn't watch. Hence the offending clock radio.  
  
He made his way downstairs into the Alpha Alpha frat house kitchen. A quick check of the fridge found its contents limited to half a loaf of bread, a jar of mayonnaise, and a plate covered with a pile of a green...something. "I thought someone was supposta buy some stuff," he muttered as he made a sandwich of a couple slices of bread with some mayonnaise between them. He had eaten half the sandwich when he remembered that he was the one who was supposed to buy food this week. With a shrug he finished his meal, threw the knife in the sink, and walked out the back door to head for class.  
  
Unnoticed by Rocko as he made his way down the street was a beat up green Chevette sitting several houses away from the frat house. A man wearing a very obvious wig sat behind the wheel. He opened up a compact cell phone and began to dial. "Subject is on the way," he said into the mouthpiece.   
  
"Maybe you'll finally catch them together," replied the woman on the other end of the line.   
  
"Maybe," he replied. He reached down to turn the key in the ignition. All he got when he did was a loud grinding sound. "Oh shit," he cursed.  
  
"What's wrong," the woman asked. "He spotted you?"  
  
"Uhh, negative. My car quit. Again."  
  
********************  
  
Walking through the cafeteria with his lunch tray Nitz noticed Rob Brodie sitting at a table with what looked like a box of t-shirts. Probably for the Exposed Expo, he thought as he quickly walked over to Brodie. One of State U.'s sillier traditions, the Exposed Expo involved freshmen students running around naked outside during the first snowfall of the school year. Nitz had actually summoned up the courage to take part last year along with Jesse, Cal, and some other people he knew. Snow had been forecast for the end of the week and anticipation was rising for this year's edition.  
  
"Hey Nitz," called out Brodie as Nitz walked up to the table.  
  
"Hey Brodie," replied Nitz. He put his tray down on the table and picked up one of the shirts. It was the same buxom female stick figure/"Co-ed Naked Nakedness" logo design that Brodie had sold last year. "Same as last time."  
  
"Of course," replied Brodie. "It's a classic design." He leaned forward and said in a much softer tone,"Besides, I still had 175 in a box left over from last year."  
  
Nitz chuckled. "Don't worry, I won't tell any of the freshies."  
  
"Thanks." Brodie looked over Nitz's shoulder. "Rocko just walked in."  
  
"Yeah, he probably wants me to help him get cameras in here for the Double Ex again," sighed Nitz. "Better go get this over with. See you later." Nitz picked up his tray and motioned to Rocko to join him.  
  
They walked over to an empty table and sat down. "Look Rocko, before you even ask, the answer is no, I'm not gonna help you get cameras onto campus for the Double Ex again."  
  
Rocko looked perplexed for a moment until he remembered what the Double Ex was. "Huh, is that coming up? I forgot all about it. I ain't here for that."  
  
"Sorry Rocko," replied Nitz.   
  
"No prob. Besides, I'm not impressed with this year's crop of freshman chicks," he said bluntly. "They're either too flat chested or kinda dumpy. Wouldn't wanna see 'em naked anyways."  
  
"So, you're just here for a chat?" asked Nitz, trying not to laugh at the dirty looks and angry mutterings Rocko's statement had provoked amongst a group of women at a nearby table.  
  
"Yeah," Rocko replied as he leaned back in his chair. "Seems I've seen just about zilch of you the last couple of weeks."  
  
Nitz shrugged. "Well, I have been pretty busy lately."  
  
"Yeah, Kimmy's got you on the go a lot I bet," said Rocko, a sly grin on his face.  
  
"Well, actually she's been busy doing stuff, so I haven't seen her much the past few days," said Nitz, a small frown on his face. "But hopefully we can hook up tomorrow night. I got invited to Melinda Cane's latest party."  
  
"Well hot damn!" said Rocko enthusiastically. Reputed to be the richest student to ever attend State U. Melinda Cane was famed for the regular parties she held at her family's large estate. "Got any idea why you got invited?"  
  
Nitz shook his head. "No. I've never met her, and I don't think I know anyone who knows her. But you've heard the rumours I'll bet. They say even her friends don't know why she invites the people she does. Who knows, maybe she picks names randomly out of a hat."  
  
"Probably why I got invited to one," said Rocko with a nod. "Don't think I'm gonna get invited again."  
  
Nitz laughed. "So, I suppose you drank too much and did something stupid."  
  
Rocko shrugged. "Yeah, something like that. Anyways buddy, you're gonna have lots of fun, just wait and see."  
  
"Well, its got to be more fun than the last party I went to with Kimmy. It was some Drama student thing, so they spent most of the night talking about acting stuff and gossip about the Drama Department. I just sat there most of the night being bored."  
  
"Civilian boyfriend syndrome," Rocko said knowingly. "You're there because you wanna be with your girl, but otherwise you'd be anyplace else. Chicks suffer from it too, like when their guy takes 'em to a motorcycle show and they've go no interest in cycles, but they go because, hey, its an excuse to be with their man."  
  
"Wow, that's a pretty deep idea Rocko," said Nitz appreciatively.  
  
"Hey, you're not the only one who can get all philosophical and stuff." Rocko started looking around the room, as if looking for someone.   
  
"Is there something wrong?" asked Nitz.  
  
Rocko shrugged. "It's the weirdest damn thing man. For at least the past couple of days I've had the feelin' someone's been following me around."  
  
"Rocko, I can think of no reason why anyone would be following you around," said Nitz in his best "Rocko, you're being silly again" voice.   
  
Rocko grinned. "I dunno man, I was hopin' some hot chick had decided to stalk me or something."  
  
"And you'd like to be stalked?" asked Nitz with a chuckle.  
  
"Yeah man. Way things are going with the ladies I'd be glad to have even a nutty one obsessed with me." Rocko laughed and smiled ruefully. "Pretty pathetic huh?"  
  
"Oh, I'm sure someone else is even more pathetic," countered Nitz.  
  
Rocko looked at his watch and stood up. "Gotta run bud. Besides, you proabably wanna finish your lunch anyways. Have fun at the party."  
  
"I will. Seeya later," said Nitz with a wave as Rocko walked away.  
  
Unnoticed by the two friends a man in sunglasses and a baseball cap sitting at a corner table got up to follow Rocko as he left the cafeteria.   
  
******************  
  
The next morning found Rocko's mysterious shadow once more sitting in his Chevette down the street from Alpha Alpha. He stifled a yawn and reached for a large paper cup of coffee sitting on the dash. He'd followed Rocko until 1 A.M. when the junior college student had staggered back to the frathouse after a night of heavy drinking. Looking at his watch he saw that it was pushing 11 and the kid still hadn't left for his morning classes, or whatever the hell it was he was going to do that day.  
  
He hoped something happened today. So far all his surveillance had resulted in was a sore back, boredom, and a drain on his bank account. Despite the possible payoff he couldn't wait forever. Still, the money was too tempting not to give it just a little more time.  
  
*******  
  
Nitz drummed his fingers on his desk as he listened to the dial tone. He'd been trying to get in touch with Kimmy all day to ask her out to the party tonight, but so far hadn't had any luck. He knew he should have phoned her yesterday, but things just hadn't worked out that way. "Finally," he muttered as he heard her pick up the phone.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Hey Kimmy, its me. Listen, I got invited to Melinda Cane's lastest party and I was wondering if you were interested in going tonight?"  
  
"Oh Nitz, I'm sorry," said Kimmy apologetically. "If you'd phoned me earlier...."  
  
Nitz grimaced. It sounded like she was going to be unavailable yet again. "Actually I did phone you earlier. But I kept getting a message that your cell phone was out of service, and I didn't get an answer when I phoned your room."  
  
"Just a second," she said, and Nitz heard her rummaging through her purse. "Oopsie. I forgot to charge it last night, so it went dead on me. I've been out all day, so that's how come you couldn't get me here."  
  
Nitz shook his head. It wasn't the first time she'd forgotten to charge her phone. "So you're busy tonight?"  
  
"Yes. The Africa support group I'm involved with is protesting at a speech by the Zimbabwean ambassador. We only just found out he was coming to town or I would have mentioned it before."  
  
"That's okay. I know this kind of stuff is important to you," Nitz replied, not letting disappointment creep into his voice.   
  
"Thanks for being so understanding. I really, really appreciate it. Look, you should go to that party. Don't worry about me not coming along, I'm sure you'll have a good time. All my friends say those parties are lots of fun, and you never know if you'll get invited to more than one so you don't want to miss it if you do get the chance."  
  
"I'll think about it," he said.  
  
"Good. Look Nitz, I have to run. I'll try phoning you tomorrow, I think I'm free tomorrow night. Bye!"  
  
"What the hell," muttered Nitz as he hung up. Kimmy was right, he should go to the party. He slipped on his jacket, grabbed his hat, and walked out the door. As he walked down the corridor he ran into Jesse and Kruger. "Hi guys, what are you up to tonight?"  
  
"Hey man," replied Kruger. "Goin' to the Cane place."  
  
"Ah, so you guys got invited too."  
  
"That's right," added Jesse. "So, I suppose it's off to go pick up Kimmy?"  
  
"No, she's got something else to do tonight," Nitz said with a shake of his head. "But she said to go anyways, so I am. No point in spending Friday night sitting around in my room doing nothing."  
  
"That's the spirit," said Jesse approvingly. "So c'mon guys, lets go!"  
  
*******************  
  
"Damn that's good," said Rocko after he finished swallowing the last of his hamburger. He smiled contentedly and rubbed his stomach.   
  
As he looked out the window of the restaurant something caught his eye. It was a beat up green Chevette, parked across the street. Normally a Chevette wasn't something that Rocko would have paid much attention to. They were hardly the most rare or interesting vehicles on the road. But this one had a rather distinctive looking patch of rust on its left front fender. It sort of reminded Rocko of Australia. It was a rust spot Rocko realised he'd seen several times lately. That same car had been turning up a lot at places Rocko went to, including being parked near Alpha Alpha several times over the past week or so.  
  
Rocko's eyes narrowed. He'd thought it was simply his imagination that someone was following him. Nitz had thought the idea was silly. But the car had shown up one time too many for Rocko's taste. He was now pretty much certain he was being followed. Thinking for a moment he decided he was going to find out for sure. It wasn't like he had anything better to do that evening.  
  
******************  
  
Nitz whistled as he walked into the Cane house with Jesse and Kruger. "This is quite the place," he said appreciatively. The elegant, wood panelled interior was the kind of thing Nitz had expected to find in a mansion like this, as were the tasteful and expensive furnishings. The throng of college-aged partygoers and the rap music booming out of the stereo system seemed entirely out of place, as if they'd been dropped in randomly for no apparently reason.  
  
"So, where is this chick anyways?" asked Kruger as the trio walked around.  
  
"That's her over there," said Jesse, pointing at a tall woman in a loose white blouse, leather vest, and leather miniskirt.   
  
Kruger stared. "Yer telling me that's her? Geez, I figured she'd look like a $&% debutant, not some punk rock chick with magenta hair and a $^%% nose ring."  
  
"Yeah, she's a real surprise when you actually meet her," said Jesse with a smile. "You wouldn't know she's from money by talking to her, she's really down to earth."  
  
"You know her?" asked Nitz.  
  
"Yeah, we take the same karate class, and I run into her here and there occasionally."   
  
"I'm surprised Evans ain't here," Kruger mused as he scanned the crowd. "I wonder if he's ever been invited to one of these?"  
  
Nitz smirked. "Actually Cal's got an open invitation. He's welcome at any party Melinda Cane holds."   
  
"#^$& figures," groused Kruger.  
  
Nitz chuckled. "Don't worry, tonight he's got some of his RA time scheduled."  
  
"Thank ^$^$&*# heaven for small favours," sneered Kruger. "Hey look, its Dan and that new girlfriend of his. Guess he likes 'em tall," he mused, as the slim blonde was somewhat taller than Dan.  
  
"Either of you met her yet?" asked Jesse. Nitz and Kruger shook their heads. "Well, I guess we'd better go and see if she's as talkative as Dan is."  
  
"I'll be with you in a couple of minutes," said Nitz. He grinned and rubbed his hands together. "They've got quite the spread over there, so I'm gonna get some food first."  
  
"Better be careful Nitz, you don't want to put on too much weight," teased Jesse as she and Kruger started walking towards Dan.  
  
Nitz quickly walked over to the large buffet. He decided to get something to drink before he took a look at what was available to eat. He grabbed one of the large plastic glasses of punch sitting on one of the tables. He took a sip, finding that whatever the mixture was it had a bit of a bite to it, and that he quite enjoyed the taste. He quickly piled a plate with food and went to join his friends.  
  
Nitz made a couple more trips to refill his plate and grab a drink before everyone decided it was time to go mingle with the other guests. Jesse teased him a bit about his bottomless stomach, but she and the others didn't pay any attention to what Nitz was drinking or how much he was drinking. With no one warning him the punch was spiked, and no actual experience with what effect alcohol had on him Nitz was quickly becoming drunk by the time they split up.  
  
****************  
  
Cal walked purposefully down the hall, wearing his RA bathrobe and carrying a clipboard. "An RA's work is never done," he muttered. "Except when its ladytime!" Even before he reached his destination he knew why he'd been summoned, the roar of heavy metal pumped out of a stereo system cranked to an ungodly level assaulting his ears. He wasn't surprised to see where the high decibel racket was coming from. Once more the occupants of Room 506 were rattling the walls of Chilton Hall.  
  
Cal stopped in front of the door to 506 and slipped his clipboard under one arm. From past experience he knew he'd need both hands free. Balling his hands into fists he slammed them as hard as he could into the door, hitting it a half dozen times. He then stuck a finger in each ear, knowing that the volume would increase greatly when the door opened. A few moments later the door opened, and a young man with long hair wearing a Slayer t-shirt stepped halfways out of the room. "Heya, it's the Calster dude!" he screamed. "Just let me turn things down!" He disappeared back into his room, and the volume soon dropped to merely loud instead of standing directly under a 747 at full throttle loud. He reappeared with another young man, this one with a shaved head and goatee, wearing an identical Slayer t-shirt. "What can we do for you dude?"  
  
Cal shook his head. "Guy, people are complaining you're playing your music too loud again." Cal looked down at his clipboard. "That's the fifth time in a week guy, and people have made lots more complaints before that."  
  
The duo looked at each other and grinned sheepishly. "Dude, we just love our music so much, and when we rock out its gotta be loud!" explained the bald one.  
  
Cal looked at them sternly. "I'm sorry guy, but we've had too many complaints. If me or another RA writes you up again you'll have to leave Chilton Hall."  
  
The metalheads looked at each other in dismay. "Bummer," they moaned in unison.  
  
"So, try to be quiet, okay guy? And maybe you better turn your music off for tonight, okay?"  
  
"Okay dude," said the bald one contritely. "We know when we have to listen to the Calster." Together he and his roommate walked back into their room and shut the door, the music coming to an abrupt halt soon after.  
  
Cal shook his head as he made a notation that they'd been warned their behaviour was unacceptable. The sound of a door opening made him look up, and he saw a redhead stick her head out of her room. She gave him a thumbs up as she pulled off a pair of ear protectors. "Thanks for coming so quickly," she said. "I thought I was going to lose a filling if they didn't stop!"  
  
"That's not good lady, so I'm glad I could help. Pretty ladies should have really nice teeth."  
  
The girl blinked. "Ummm, thanks, I think."  
  
*************************  
  
There were few things Melinda Cane liked better than a good party, which is why she held them frequently. Of course being given a ridiculous sum of money and free reign to do what you wanted with the family mansion on your eighteenth birthday by your very wealthy parents helped. Tonight's party was going very well. Everyone was enjoying themselves, and more importantly behaving themselves. She hated having the State U. football players she hired as bouncers throw people out, and for once they hadn't had to.  
  
She grinned as she spotted Nitz sitting on a couch. He was just the guy she was looking for. "Hey Walsh, howya doing?" she asked as she sat down beside him.  
  
"I'm doin' pretty good," he drawled.  
  
"Well good. So, where's that girlfriend of yours?"  
  
  
  
"She couldn't come tonight," he replied, a melancholy frown crossing his face.  
  
"Rats! I wanted to talk to her about a couple of charities I'm interested in. She's not sick or something?"  
  
Nitz shook his head. "Naaah, she's out savin' the world." He crossed his arms, and his expression changed to one of annoyance. "Guess that's more important than spending time with me, cuz that always seems ta come first."  
  
"Yeah, she certainly spends lots of time with that kind of stuff." At least he's enjoying the punch, she thought, noticing Nitz's slightly slurred speech and several empty plastic glasses sitting at his feet. "But hey, you can still have fun tonight, right?"  
  
"Uhuh," he said with an exaggerated nod. "I don' even need her get up and dance, see?" he said as he rose to his feet and started moving towards the stereo system. Melinda laughed as he waved his arms in the air and swayed back and forth as he crossed the floor. She guessed he was probably "the drunk in the blue hat" she'd just heard someone laughing about.  
  
"Be careful man, that's a 6 grand speaker cab you're tangoing with!" she shouted good naturedly as Nitz grabbed onto one of the large speaker enclosures while continuing to dance. "That's funny," she said softly as she watched Nitz's erratic solo performance, "I thought Kimmy told me the guy doesn't drink."  
  
*********************  
  
"Ah man!"   
  
Jesse grinned at her opponent, a goateed young man wearing a beat up Yankees cap. "Good think we're not playing for money," she said as she lined up her shot and sank the 8 ball.  
  
"Yeah, you're hot tonight," he replied.   
  
"Well, its probably time for me to let someone else win," she said as she put the pool cue she had been using back on a rack in a corner of the room. She'd come across the game room while going for a bathroom break, and had played several games of pool against different players. She'd surprised even herself by winning all of them.  
  
Jesse leaned back against the wall to watch the guy in the old cap take on a weedy boy she was sure she'd seen at Tekerson. She had been watching for several minutes when a familiar voice called out "Hey Jesse!" It was Miyuki, a girl Jesse shared a couple of classes with. "You know Nitz Walsh right?" she asked.  
  
"Sure," Jesse replied with a nod. "Is something wrong?"  
  
"Yeah, he seems to be good and drunk, and he's acting kind of goofy."  
  
Jesse frowned. "Are you sure? Nitz doesn't drink."  
  
Miyuki nodded. "That may be true normally, but he's had a bunch of glasses of that punch they're serving, and its got something more than fruit juice in it."  
  
"Damn! God knows how Nitz will react to getting plastered for the first time!" said Jesse with concern. "I better go find him. Thanks Miyuki."  
  
"No problem," the longhaired girl said with a smile. "I like Nitz. If he wasn't spoken for I might go after him myself."  
  
Jesse laughed. "You've got good taste," she said as she walked off to find Nitz. It didn't take her long to hunt him down. He was out in the backyard, sitting on a bench near the large swimming pool that took up much of the yard. He was bent over, holding his head. "Hey Nitz, you all right?" she asked as she walked over and sat beside him.  
  
"I don' feel so good," he moaned. "My head feels all funny."  
  
Jesse got a strong whiff of something as he spoke. Yep, he's been drinking all right, she thought. "So, how many glasses of that punch did you have tonight?"  
  
"Ummm, this many," he said, holding up a hand with all five figures raised. He frowned. "Or maybe it was this many," he added, bringing up his other hand, again with all five fingers raised, to join the first one. "I can't remember."  
  
Jesse grimaced. She suspected it was closer to ten than five. She slipped an arm around Nitz's shoulder. "Well then, I hate to break it to you buddy, but you're drunk."  
  
He pushed her arm away, an annoyed look on his face. "I am not!" he said in a near shout. "Why do people keep sayin' that?"  
  
"Nitz, there was alcohol in the punch."  
  
"Wuz not! Idda know if there was!" he said belligerently.  
  
"Fine, whatever," she replied in annoyance. "Anyways, you're not feeling well. Maybe you should go home, and maybe I should go along, just in case you have problems."  
  
"Awww, that's nice, but ya don' haveta do that," he said softly. He stood up slowly. "I can walk okay, see?" He walked a few feet before stumbling into another bench. "Ooops, maybe I ain't so good at walking right now," he said as he sat on the bench.  
  
"Nitz, I am definitely going to go along with you back to campus. No ifs, ands, or buts."  
  
"Thash an order, just like when I patted yer bunny, right?"  
  
"You got it." Jesse grabbed Nitz's hand and pulled to his feet. "Okay, we'll go inside and phone a cab."  
  
"Jesshy, ya don'...."  
  
Jesse crossed her arms and looked at him sternly. "What did I just say? No arguments. Now come on dude, I want to tell Kruger we're splitting."  
  
Jesse led Nitz inside. It took a few minutes before they finally found Kruger. "Whats up with Nitz?" he asked. "Guy looks $^%$ awful."  
  
"He's had way too much to drink," she replied. "And he doesn't drink, so he really can't hold his liquor too well."  
  
Kruger looked surprised. "He doesn't drink? I didn't know that."  
  
Hands on her hips, Jesse raised an eyebrow at Kruger's response. "Geez, Kruger, you've known Nitz for something like a year now, hung out with the guy a bunch, and you didn't catch on that Nitz doesn't drink?"  
  
"What, I'm supposed to know the guy's the #%#^ poster boy for the $&%%^ Temperance Society?" he retorted. "I got better things to worry about." He grabbed a pack of cigarettes out of a jacket pocket. "So, you need any help getting him back to Chilton?"  
  
Jesse shook her head. "Nah, I'm gonna call a cab right away. No reason you should miss the rest of the party."   
  
"Well, good," he said happily. "'Cuz I've been sweet talking this cutie from Central State, and I might get some tonight."  
  
"Hmmm, maybe you should come with us. It would probably be doing that girl a favour," she said deadpan.  
  
"Ah, yer just $^$& jealous because you're not gonna be getting any of this," he said, pointing at himself.  
  
"In your dreams buddy," she said with a smile.  
  
Kruger just smiled back, wondering if she had any idea of what kind of dreams he had about her.  
  
*********************  
  
Rocko grinned as he slipped into a darkened alley. It was finally time to confront his mysterious pursuer.  
  
It hadn't been a problem to figure out he was being followed once he left the restaurant. He'd gone to a couple of different places and sure enough when he came out he found the green Chevette parked somewhere nearby. Then inspiration struck. It was kind of a silly idea, but he decided to lead whomever it was on a wild goose chase around town, hoping to sucker the guy into getting out of his car.   
  
After walking the streets for a couple of hours he'd finally gone into a small shopping mall and spent a while walking in and out of the various shops. He had spotted what he assumed was the stalker or whatever he was, a guy wearing a New York Mets cap and dark glasses, reflected in the window of one of the stores. Confident the stranger could see him he ran out of the mall, knowing the guy wouldn't have the time to go back to his car if he wanted to keep up with him. He ran for several blocks, the mystery man close behind, before turning a corner and spotting the convenient alley to hide in.  
  
He stood in the dark, waiting for the man to appear. Rocko soon saw him walk by, the alley apparently being more than dark enough for him not to notice Rocko. Rocko then quietly crept out of the alley.   
  
With a snarl he charged after the man. "Aha! Gotcha!" Rocko shouted as tried to grab his pursuer. He was shocked however when he found himself tossed over the man's shoulder. Rolling with the fall he jumped back to his feet and balled his hands into fists. "Alright pal, I don't know who the hell you are, but I want some answers, now!"  
  
Rocko tensed when the man reached into his jacket, but instantly relaxed when he saw a billfold in his hand and not a weapon. He flipped it open and shoved it in Rocko's direction. "Name's Frank Hall. I'm a bounty hunter licensed with the State of New York.  
  
"Bounty hunter?" said Rocko in confusion as he took the billfold. Rocko had no idea if it was legitimate or not, but the photo ID card inside stated that this guy was indeed one Frank Hall, licensed by the State of New York as a bounty hunter. "What the hell are you following me for?'  
  
"I was hoping you'd lead me to your uncle, Pianos Pete."  
  
"Who?" asked Rocko, still confused. After a moment however the name rang a bell. "Waitaminute, you mean Pete Gambiani, the Mafia guy from Cleveland?"  
  
Hall nodded. "That's right. There's a 250 grand reward for bringing him in."  
  
Rocko started to laugh. "Oh boy, have you screwed up. Yeah, we've got the same last name, but my family has zero connection with him or any other Mafia people. Hell, my family ain't even Sicilians."  
  
A furious expression appeared on Hall's face. "That goddamn little son of a bitch! He screwed me over!"  
  
"What, you got a bad snitch or something?" asked a smiling Rocko.  
  
"Yeah, the little bastard claimed you were Pianos Pete's nephew. 'Oh, they're really close, all you have to do is follow him around and you'll catch Pete,'" he said in a whiney voice Rocko assumed was an imitation of the snitch's. "Two weeks down the drain!" The bounty hunter suddenly looked nervous. "Look pally, do you think we can keep the cops outta this? I know you got a legit reason to call 'em...."  
  
Rocko smiled. "No problem. Last thing I wanna do is waste time filling out forms and crap with the fuzz just because you got some bad info. Just do me a favour and give your snitch a shot for me."  
  
A nasty grin appeared on Hall's face. "Oh yeah, me and the little SOB will be having...words when I see him again. Anyways, thanks kid. I'm outta here." Spinning around he headed down the street.  
  
Rocko grinned as he watched the bounty hunter walk away muttering a stream of curses. The idea that someone could think his family had Mob connections amused him to no end. Looking around, he found his weird ramble around town had led him to the edge of the State U. campus. As he considered what to do next a cab pulled to a stop further down the block, and a familiar pair climbed out. Rocko watched with interest as Nitz leaned heavily against Jesse for a bit, and then started walking down the sidewalk with a stumbling gait, Jesse guiding him along. "Yo!" Rocko called out. "Something wrong with Nitz?" he asked as Jesse led Nitz over.  
  
"Yeah, he's drunk," Jesse replied.  
  
"What the hell are you talking about? Nitz doesn't drink."  
  
"Thas what I keep tryin' to tell people!" Nitz said loudly.  
  
"Hush you!" Jesse ordered him sternly. "He drank a bunch of some punch they had there tonight, and he didn't realise it was alcoholic."  
  
"Now I get it," said Rocko with a nod. "Kinda funny that would happen, cuz I haven't touched a drop today. Maybe its some sort of cosmic balance thing that I can't be boozed up if Nitz is."  
  
Jesse chuckled. "Wow, that's deep, especially for you! Maybe you should stay sober more often."  
  
"Maybe," said Rocko, nodding in agreement. "Anyways, you need some help hauling him back? I do owe the guy for that time me and Kruger got clipped by the cops."  
  
"Nah, I think we're alright, but thanks for asking," said Jesse. "We would have gone directly to Chilton Hall, but I couldn't take it anymore. The cab we caught smelled horrible. I figured if I stayed in there much longer I was gonna hurl, and I hate to think what Nitz might have done. Besides, walking a few blocks in the fresh air can't hurt him."  
  
"You're probably right." Rocko turned to Nitz and gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Look buddy, you take it easy, okay? That first hangover can be really nasty."  
  
"I'm not drunk," Nitz said petulantly.  
  
"You'll be wishing that tomorrow," Rocko replied.  
  
******************  
  
Jesse sighed in relief as she led Nitz out of the elevator. She was starting to think that maybe they should have stayed in the cab, gross as it had smelled. Nitz was looking sicker and sicker, and she half expected him to throw up at any minute. As they approached Nitz's room his roommate Chris was starting to unlock the door. He looked up with surprise when Nitz let out a moan.  
  
"Hey Jesse, what's wrong with Nitz?" he asked.  
  
"He's had way too much to drink tonight."  
  
Chris smiled sympathetically as he finished unlocking the door. "Yeah, he's definitely looking kind of green." He walked into the room and quickly moved out of the way to give Jesse and Nitz as much room as possible.   
  
"Thank God we made it," Jesse said, obviously relieved. "I wasn't sure we were gonna...." A loud choking sound interrupted her, and she spun around to look at Nitz. "Definitely not a moment too soon!"  
  
Nitz's face contorted, his eyes bulged, and he brought his hands up to his mouth. Spinning around he stumbled into the bathroom, and to no one's surprise the sound of Nitz puking his guts out soon followed. He stumbled out of the bathroom a few minutes later and flopped face down on his bed. "I don't feel so good," he groaned.   
  
"You'll feel better once you get some sleep," Jesse said, covering Nitz with his blanket.  
  
"Zmuh," he mumbled.  
  
Jesse looked over at Chris. "I guess I'd better split. You gonna be here tonight?"  
  
"Yeah, I will. Don't worry, he'll be alright," Chris said with a nod. "Given how much he just puked up I doubt he'll throw up anymore tonight."  
  
"Thanks Chris," she said as she walked out the door and closed it behind her.  
  
Chris grinned as he turned to look at Nitz, who had already fallen asleep. He knew Nitz didn't drink, so there must be an interesting story behind how he got drunk. And from the look of things Nitz was in line for a hell of a hangover in the morning.  
  
***************  
  
Nitz popped a couple of Tylenol into his mouth and followed them down with a large glass of water. He rubbed his head a bit as he walked back to his bed to lie down. A few minutes later he heard a soft knocking on his door, and called out, "Come in."  
  
The door swung open slowly and Jesse walked in. "Hey dude. Figured I'd come and see how you're feeling this morning," she said softly as she sat down in his desk chair.  
  
"It feels like someone kicked me in the head, over and over again," he groaned. "So this is what a hangover feels like."  
  
"Uhum," said Jesse with a nod. "Well, at least when you drank as much as you did last night. It doesn't help you've never done that before. That's the reason you did some praying at the altar of the Porcelain God as well."  
  
"Well, never again," he said sternly, a determined expression on his face. "I'm going to make sure I keep away from alcohol, period."  
  
She looked at him skeptically. "C'mon, aren't you overreacting? It's not like you did anything particularly stupid or dangerous. And you seemed to like the taste of that punch well enough, or you wouldn't have guzzled down so much."  
  
"Look Jess, there's more to me not drinking than generally not liking the taste of booze. Just look at who I've seen drunk the most."  
  
"Rocko, right?"  
  
Nitz nodded. "Yeah. I've seen him do so much stupid shit, and he's not even legal yet. Like our high school graduation ceremony. He was drinking beforehand, and he got so drunk he fell off the stage!"  
  
"Wow, I wouldn't have guessed that from your picture," Jesse said with surprise, pointing to the picture on Nitz's desk of Nitz and friends in their high school graduation robes.  
  
A smirk appeared on Nitz's face. "You can thank Gimpy for that. He Photoshopped that picture up a bit to make Rocko look presentable." His expression shifted back to a frown. "Frankly I sometimes kinda wonder if he isn't an alcoholic. Anyways, seeing Rocko make a complete buffoon of himself over and over again has really turned me off the idea of drinking."  
  
Jesse nodded. "I can understand that. I do think you're overreacting, but hey, there's nothing wrong with not drinking. Besides," she said with a mischievious tone in her voice, "that means the rest of us have a permanent designated driver handy if we ever need one."  
  
"I suppose." Nitz smiled at her. "Thanks for last night. I owe you one, again, especially since you left the party to help me."  
  
"It was no problem at all," she replied with a shrug. "I would have spent the rest of the party worrying about you anyways."  
  
Nitz sighed. "Now I really have something to feel guilty about, making you worry."  
  
"Forget about it, I know you'd do the same thing if the shoe was on the other foot. Besides, it's been a while since I've pulled your ass out of some mess, so I needed the practice. Anyways, I suppose I should get out of here and let get over your hangover."  
  
Nitz frowned. "So, I guess you don't have a hangover cure recipe handy."  
  
Jesse gave Nitz a sympathetic smile. "'Fraid not. You'll just have to wait for it to go away by itself."  
  
"Somehow I figured you'd say that."   
  
**********************  
  
Finally, almost a month after I figured it would be done this finally appears. It seemed like the chapter than would never been done, so I'm really glad to get it out at last. 


	7. Blind Date

Blind Date  
  
The sound of rapid typing greeted Harrison Kenton as he stormed into the room. "Alright, what the hell is going on, Mr. Pritchard?" he growled.  
  
"We're under attack, sir!" the nervous technician replied.  
  
The bald man's expression grew angrier. "What the hell am I paying you lot for?" he shouted, shaking his fist at Pritchard and several other technicians manning various computer stations. "We're supposed to be invulnerable to intrusion!"  
  
"It, um, seems, uh, sir, that the systems we put into place have some design flaws," responded another tech, a woman named Flores. "We, well, ummm, did warn you, sir, that the more expensive product might be the better choice," she added sheepishly. She cringed when Kenton turned his glare in her direction.  
  
Kenton turned his glare back at Pritchard. "So, what are you doing about this intruder?"  
  
"Its two intruders actually," said Pritchard. "We're trying everything to block them but they keep slipping through our defenses."  
  
"They're after our R&D files, I'm sure of it!"   
  
"Don't worry, sir, we've encrypted the R&D material," said Pritchard confidently. "No hacker or industrial spy has access to computers powerful enough to break the encryption." He tapped a command into his computer, and suddenly his smile became a deep frown. "Oh. Oh dear."  
  
"What?"  
  
"They're not going for the R&D files. They're going after PR files." His frown became even deeper. "And one of the hackers has just accessed them."  
  
"And those files aren't encrypted," Flores interjected. "Mr. Pritchard said it wouldn't be worth the bother, no one would be interested in them."  
  
"YOU IDIOT!" roared Kenton. "The product we're about to launch is highly controversial, and the PR department has been developing a campaign to generate a favourable response. But now, because you were too damn lazy, our customers will learn about it weeks in advance, without our campaign convincing them it's a good idea!" Kenton smashed his fist onto the top of Pritchard's monitor and gave the hapless man a menacing look. "You might want to consider seeking new employment before the day is out," he said as he turned around and stalked out of the room.  
  
"I warned you," said Flores bluntly as Pritchard buried his face in his hands.

* * *

"I am the champion, of the world!" sang Gimpy, horribly off key. "Once more I, G Prime, have proven my superiority over a mere girl!" He had challenged his arch nemesis, the mysterious female hacker who called herself She Prime, to a duel. The challenge was a simple one. Penetrate the computer system of a specific company to acquire a specific piece of information. Whoever got the information first was the winner, and it had been him. (Gimpy conveniently ignored the fact that She Prime had beaten him the last two times he'd challenged her to a similar duel.) Of course he'd been hoping he could also pick up more information that would lead him to who She Prime really was, and where she was. That hadn't happened, but he was sure that next time they fought online she would finally slip up and he would have her.  
  
Tonight's intrusion exercise had been more than another attempt at one upping She Prime however. It was intended to benefit a lot of other people as well. Gimpy frowned as he looked at the information he'd gone to great effort to get. It seemed the rumours were true. Kentel Toys was going to produce a talking Jar Jar Binks action figure. What a disappointment, he thought. Gimpy considered George Lucas a genius, but even geniuses made mistakes, and like many people he considered the annoying alien character a big mistake. And he'd been so hoping they'd produce a talking Obiwan Kenobi figure.  
  
Gimpy started typing up a short report detailing what he'd found. Perhaps if he posted it in the right places there would be enough fan pressure to make Kentel changed their minds and produce a figure more worthy of the Star Wars legacy.

* * *

She Prime smashed a fist into her keyboard with a growl. The little twerp had won again! And she'd been hoping for a third consecutive thrashing of G Prime.   
  
She leaned back in her chair and tugged on one of her earrings, a habit she fell into when she was nervous or annoyed. She just couldn't seem to gain an advantage over G Prime. She might be dominant for a bit, but the pendulum would soon swing the other way and he would have the upper hand, but only for a limited time. In the end their respective strengths tended to balance out. G Prime had better equipment, but she seemed to have slightly better code writing skills. More importantly she suspected they tended to think alike and tended to come up with the same answers to whatever challenge might be involved, preventing either from getting a decisive edge.  
  
She did have one major advantage. She knew who he was, while she was just a voice at the other end of an audio link to him. She just couldn't figure out how to exploit the fact.

* * *

Jesse looked out the window of her room at the early evening sky as she talked to her mother. She was a bit surprised at the question her mother asked. "No, Mom, I'm not going out with anyone."  
  
"That's good, Jesse. You see, an old friend of mine has a son...."  
  
"Mom, I don't need you fixing me up!"  
  
Jesse's mother kept her cool. "I know you don't, dear. But my friend seems to think her son does, and she's been begging me for help."  
  
"And you want me to go out with the poor guy."  
  
"I wouldn't ask, but Ann has been rather persistent about asking," she replied, sounding slightly annoyed. "If you say no, I'll more than understand, but I could really do with the help."  
  
Jesse thought about it for a moment. "Okay, Mom, I'll do it. Its not like you ask me for favours very often. But you'll have to do something for me in return."  
  
Her mother chuckled. "And I bet I know what it is. You want me to bake up a batch of your favourite chocolate chip cookies and send them up there."  
  
"You know me so well," Jesse said in amusement. "That's one of the things I miss about being away from home, those cookies."  
  
"I think that's a fair exchange. So, I'll give him your number. He's supposed to be coming to town on the weekend. Thank you, sweetheart. I'll talk to you soon, love you."  
  
Jesse smiled. "I love you too, Mom. Bye."  
  
Lisa was lying on her bed, noodling around on her bass. "So, your mom's trying to set you up."  
  
"Nah, she's not. She says she's just trying to get an old friend off her back, and I believe her." Jesse grabbed one of the knives she kept on the shelf above her bed and started cleaning her fingernails with the tip. "She's pretty transparent when it comes to meddling, and I can usually spot it a mile away."   
  
"And you decided to go for it."  
  
"Why not? Its not like I'm getting a lot of offers."  
  
"I'd have thought you'd have to beat them off."  
  
Jesse shook her head. "Nope. The last guy to ask me out was one of Gimpy's crew, that one with the curly red hair and the braces. Melvin or something."  
  
Lisa laughed. "I've seen some of those guys. I have trouble thinking of Gimpy's sidekicks as a 'crew.'"  
  
"Yeah, they aren't exactly the scariest bunch are they?" Sastisfied with her cleaning job Jesse put the knife back on the shelf. "I wish I knew why I'm not getting more attention. It might be because I hang out with Brodie and Kruger so much, and people think I'm dating one of them."  
  
"Could be, although all they'd have to do is spend a couple minutes near you guys and they'd be able to tell you aren't," countered Lisa.  
  
"I suppose." Jesse shrugged. "Or maybe the guys around here are into taller women. That's the only thing I'd change about myself physically if I could, I'd make myself a bit taller."  
  
Lisa laughed. "You're not exactly a midget."  
  
"No, but I'm shorter than a lot of girls around here. Just a minor disadvantage of having ancestors from China." Grabbing a textbook off her desk she sat down crosslegged on her bed. "But hey, its not like I'm sitting around moaning and groaning because I don't have a guy. I'm quite happy with my life the way it is. Having a boyfriend would just be an added bonus."  
  
"You've got that right," agreed Lisa.

* * *

Nitz leaned against a wall, waiting. Kimmy's first Wednesday class was just about to end and he was hoping to catch her when she came out. He really wanted to talk to her and he wasn't in the mood to play phone tag this morning. When the door of the classroom swung open Kimmy was amongst the first students to walk out. Smiling, Nitz called out to her.  
  
"It's so good to see you," she said as she walked over. "We haven't spent much time together lately. I've been so busy! The new play we're doing is a real undertaking, and the role I'm doing has a lot of dialogue that needs to be rehearsed. And the costumes are so complicated they need a lot of tailoring, so I've been spending my time with the seamstress. You'll definitely have to come see it..."  
  
"Well, of course I wi...."  
  
"...because it'll be terrific! And then when I'm not busy working on that I've got all this stuff to do for my classes, the professors are just piling on the work. Then there's the midterm exams too, I'm been studying for those for a couple of weeks already, because you can never start too early if you want to get really good marks. Maybe we can study together..."  
  
"That would be ni...."  
  
"...even though we don't take any of the same classes together. And I've also got all these other things too, like helping plan the Christmas food drive, we want to get that going pretty soon. Oh, look at the time, the food drive committee is meeting in just a few minutes! I'd better run! Thanks for catching up with me, Nitz, I really appreciate it. If I get the chance I'll phone you later tonight and we can maybe align our schedules a bit better. Bye!"  
  
Nitz watched in disbelief as Kimmy charged off, her long red hair streaming behind her. He hadn't even managed to complete a sentence in their one sided conversation. "Crap," he muttered as he leaned heavily against the wall, feeling very disappointed. He would have been glad to spend even 15 minutes with Kimmy, but she didn't even have time for that.  
  
Scowling, Nitz spun around and stomped angrily down the hall. He had no real idea where he was going to go, only that he didn't want to go in the same direction Kimmy was.

* * *

Mump walked into Gimpy's room. He wanted to talk to G Prime before heading off to his afternoon classes. As was usually the case he found Gimpy in front of his computers, rapidly typing away. "Sir, will you be joining us tonight?"   
  
As Gimpy turned to face Mump he quickly minimised the program currently visible on his monitor. "Not tonight. You and the others will simply have to risk the dangerous territory that is GamingOnlineCentral without me. I have an important project that needs my utmost attention."  
  
"Do you need our help, sir?"  
  
"Um, no, it's alright, Mump," Gimpy replied nervously. "I'm sure I can do it without you."  
  
"If you say so, sir. See you later then!"   
  
Mump was half way down the corridor before he let a frown appear on his face. Something odd was going on. G-Prime had minimised whatever he was working on so Mump couldn't see it, and the way he talked made it seem as if he was trying to hide something. But what could he be hiding from Mump, of all people, his right hand man?  
  
Mump continued to worry as he rode the bus to Tekerson. He was still frowning when he arrived at the front doors of the main library building. As he was about to walk in a familiar voice asked, "Hey chum, why so glum?"  
  
Looking up he smiled at the young woman in a black trenchcoat, a dark hankerchief tied around her head. "Oh, hello, Tabitha," he said. "It's nothing, really."  
  
"Yeah, right, buddy," she said, raising an eyebrow. "So spill."  
  
Mump sighed. "Its G Prime. I think he's hiding something from me."  
  
"So?"  
  
"I just find it hard to believe he would have a secret from me."  
  
Tabitha snorted. "Come on, Mump, everyone has secrets they don't tell their, errr, closest associates." Calling you his best friend would be pushing it, she thought. "I mean, you have things you wouldn't tell Gimpy, right?"  
  
Mump nodded. "You're right, maybe I' m just being naïve. But it seemed to be computer related, so you'd think he'd want my assistance."  
  
"Ha, if his ego is as big as I hear it is he might just be too embarrassed to admit he needs help with whatever it is he needs help with."  
  
Mump chuckled. "It's true, he does have a big ego. But why shouldn't he? He is G Prime after all."  
  
Tabitha rolled her eyes.  
  
They spent the next several minutes catching up with each other on what they'd each been up to and the latest Tekerson gossip. Tabitha was relating an especially juicy rumour about goings on in the robotics club when Mump suddenly turned pale. "Oh dear. Th--there s--she is," he stammered, pointing at a student passing nearby.   
  
Tabitha smiled. The short girl with glasses, her dark hair tied in a ponytail, wasn't the kind of person most people would find intimidating. But Mump wasn't most people. He found talking to girls in general hard enough, Tabitha being a noteable exception. But Mump had a crush on Miranda, the girl in question, and so it was ten times worse with her. "You should go after her," she suggested.  
  
"I can't."  
  
She gave him an encouraging look. "Hey, I'm not saying you should confess your undying love to her. Just go and talk to her a bit. Maybe ask if she'd like to go have a donut or something."  
  
"No, I can't. What if she said no?" Mump sighed as he watched Miranda walk away. "I really should go, I need to do so research. See you later."  
  
Tabitha shook her head as she watched him walk into the library. "It's not if she says no that you're really worried about, Mump," she said softly. "It's if she says yes." She began to walk towards the main electronics lab, where her next class was. As she did she considered what he had said about G Prime.  
  
She had a pretty good idea what Gimpy might be up to. She suspected their ongoing feud wasn't something Gimpy would be open about given how he had reacted to the idea of a girl being his equal, or even his superior, at anything computer. She wasn't sure if Mump had even heard of She Prime.  
  
She sometimes felt guilty about talking to Mump about Gimpy. She genuinely considered him her friend, and never deliberately pumped him for information. But given how much Mump's life seemed to revolve around Gimpy it was inevitable that she picked up quite a bit of information about what G Prime was up to, and could infer other things from what Mump said. It wasn't Mump's fault that his friend Tabitha Drake was secretly G Prime's archenemy She Prime. Hopefully Gimpy and Mump would realise that if they ever found out the truth. The last thing she wanted to do was drive a wedge between the two of them.

* * *

Friday night found Jesse preparing for, as she and Lisa had jokingly taken to calling it, "The Date of the Century." The heavy purple eyeliner, matching lipstick, and teased out hair was Lisa's first clue to what her roommate had in mind for the evening. "So, you're trying to intimidate the guy?"  
  
"That's right," Jesse replied as she slipped on a pair of leather pants. "I wanna make sure he isn't likely to be interested."  
  
"You might be jumping to conclusions, he might be a great guy."  
  
Jesse chuckled. "Come on, Lisa, the guy is probably a geeky accountant with thick glasses and greasy hair who's so scared of women he has to have mommy arrange his dates," she said sarcastically. "At the very least he's probably way too traditional for someone like me if his mother is his matchmaker."   
  
"Well, I still think you're jumping the gun, but then who am I to talk? The last guy I dated seemed like Mr. Right but turned out to be a complete jerk."  
  
"Well, it's not just that he's probably a loser, I'm not really interested in a long range romance." Jesse picked up a t-shirt and showed it to Lisa. "I thought for a minute about wearing this one, but I doubt they'd let me in the restaurant with it on."  
  
"Ah, Big Black's Songs About %%$ album cover," said an amused Lisa. "A classic."  
  
Jesse smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, but I've never actually worn it. I'm too much of a chicken!" She held up another shirt. "But this Black Flag logo shirt should be all right." She slipped on the shirt and grabbed a metal studded choker off her desk. "We're going to Morley's, and they're pretty mellow about what people wear," she said as she pulled the choker around her neck.  
  
"Good choice. It's a nice place, but not a really romantic one."  
  
"So, how do I look?" Jesse asked, slowly turning around.  
  
Lisa grinned. "Frankly I'm wondering if you aren't gonna scare me away."

* * *

Nitz sat at his desk, tapping his fingers on its top as he waited for Kimmy to pick up her phone. He was calling her apartment number after getting no response from her cell phone. He hadn't seen or talked with her since Wednesday's aborted encounter, and hoped that by calling her around suppertime he might manage to catch her.  
  
"Finally," he mumbled as he heard Kimmy's phone being picked up.   
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Hey, Kimmy. It's Nitz. How are you doing?"  
  
"Oh Nitz, its great to hear from you! I'm sorry I didn't catch you the other night."  
  
"That's all right. So, what are you up to tonight?"  
  
"Actually I'm just heading out for a protest rally."  
  
Not again, thought Nitz. "What are you protesting against this time?" he asked, all the while hoping his disappointment wasn't obvious.  
  
"Some researchers at Tekerson are working on a Navy sonar project, and there's evidence that this sonar is harming sea life. So some animal rights and peace groups are going to protest against the research. You want to come?"  
  
It wasn't hard for Nitz to make a decision. He wasn't really in the mood to spend the night being ignored by Kimmy, which he knew was what would happen. When Kimmy was in protest mode she tended to be rather single minded about whatever she was protesting. "I think I'll pass. That's not really my thing, and I've got plans tonight."  
  
"I understand. I've really got to go, but for sure I'll phone you later tonight, and we can schedule some time together. Talk to you later!"  
  
As Kimmy hung up Nitz slammed down the phone. Once more he found himself taking second place to Kimmy's other activities, and he found the whole business very frustrating. They barely seemed to see each other anymore. Not that the last couple of times they had gone out had been loads of fun. Kimmy was going through another crisis of confidence, and seemed more interested in Nitz as, to quote a phrase Rocko once used, "Shoulder To Cry On Guy" than as her boyfriend.  
  
Their relationship had revolved around Kimmy's schedule from the start, but Nitz hadn't minded at the time. They'd spent more than enough time together for his taste, especially since his most cherised dream, being with her, had come true. But as the weeks had gone by they'd slowly begun to spend less and less time together as Kimmy seemed to be doing more and more. He'd learned that the redhead had trouble turning down a request to help with a worthy cause, and in general seemed to think she was letting the world down if she didn't cram something important into every minute of the day.  
  
Nitz wasn't sure what to do. He didn't exactly have much experience to go on. Christmas break was quickly approaching however, and since both he and Kimmy would be going home for the break he hoped they'd get a chance to spend more time together then.  
  
A familiar voice halted Nitz's musings. "Yo, buddy! You around?"  
  
"Yeah, Rocko. Come in."  
  
Rocko walked in and sat down on Nitz's bed. "Watcha up to? You got something doing with Kimmy tonight?"  
  
"No, I'm not doing anything with Kimmy tonight, yet again," said Nitz wearily. "She's going to this protest against sonar research over at Tekerson. It screws up fish or something."  
  
"She's sure into that save the whales kinda stuff, isn't she?" Rocko replied. "So hey, guess that means you and me can go catch a bite."  
  
A skeptical smile appeared on Nitz's face. "You're paying for supper?"  
  
"Yeah, man, at Morley's Steakhouse."  
  
Nitz's expression became even more skeptical. "Right. Pull the other leg."  
  
"No, seriously." Rocko stuck a hand into his front pocket and pulled out a slip of paper. "See, I won this gift certificate," he said, waving the slip at Nitz. "Went to the opening of that new country bar the other night, filled out a contest entry and, waddayaknow, I won."  
  
"Well, if it's for a romantic dinner for two I'm not interest. You know I don't swing that way," said Nitz with a straight face.  
  
"Har har, very funny. It's a 50 dollar job, so I figured I'd round up you and Gimpy. But Gimp's not coming, he's doin' some computer crap, as usual. And don't even think about Cal taggin' along."  
  
"Sure, sure." Nitz stood up and reached for his jacket. He slipped it on and shoved his hands into the pockets. "Yeah, I'll go with you. Not like I've got anything better to do, and its better than sitting around moping all night."

* * *

Jesse stood by the entrance to Morley's Steakhouse. She had arrived a couple of minutes early and decided it was better to wait outside. A car soon pulled into the parking lot and a man quickly climbed out and walked towards her.  
  
Jesse stared in surprise. The tall guy with spiky hair wearing a Sex Pistols t-shirt, leather jacket, mirrorshades, and a skull earring dangling from his left ear definitely wasn't what she was expecting. "So, I'm guessing you're Mike Shou."  
  
"And you must be Jesse Leung." He looked at her for a moment, and then laughed. "Well, it seems once again the old saying is true, great minds think alike." He pulled open the door of the restaurant and motioned for her to go first. "Let's go inside, and I'll explain what I'm up to, although I think it's sort of the same thing you are."  
  
Together they walked into the restaurant. After being shown to their table they sat for a few minutes looking at the menu, with Jesse making some suggestions about what was good. The waitress took their orders and Mike leaned back in his chair. "So, let me guess, you dressed up like that to intimidate me, right?"   
  
"Yeah, pretty much," Jesse readily admitted. "I figured you'd be some geeky momma's boy loser accountant type who couldn't get a date to save your life and who'd be scared off by a 'tuff gurl.'"  
  
Mike laughed. "Well, I am studying to be an accountant, forensic accounting to be exact. Might work for someone like the FBI or the SEC if I get the chance."  
  
"Not if you dress like that," said Jesse with a grin. "So, from what you said a bit ago I'm guessing you were trying for the same effect."  
  
"Yeah, Mom kept going on how 'Margaret's daughter is a nice traditional girl who anyone would be proud to have as a daughter in law,'" he said in a whiny voice.  
  
"I don't know where she got that idea from. My Mom would never tell her something like that. I'm normally a lot more subtle than this, but I'm hardly some demure girly girl hoping to use college to find a good husband either."  
  
"Well, I don't know if she was going quite for that." Mike sighed. "But the truth is, and I want to apologise about it, that you've kinda gotten mixed up in a mess between me and my parents." He reached into a pocket of his jacket and pulled out a photo, which he handed to Jesse. "You see, I've already got a girlfriend."  
  
Jesse raised an eyebrow as she took the picture. It was a shot of an attractive young woman with long straight hair, a broad smile on her face. "So you were trying to ensure this date was a flop."  
  
"Yeah. Jin Hi and I have been going out for months, and we've gotten very serious." He frowned. "But my parents won't accept her. They keep saying she's not 'good enough' for me because her family is working class. Bad as that is I hope that's all their problem is, as I'd hate to think its because she's Korean as well."  
  
"That sucks. I know I don't like it when my parents don't trust my judgement."  
  
"So, I finally got fed up with their nagging, and decided that I'd let Mom arrange something for me, just to get them off my back. Jin Hi agreed, figuring that at least it would buy us some time to figure out what to do. And so, here we are."  
  
"Well, you won't hear me complaining," replied Jesse with a sly smile on her face. "After all, on my budget I don't get to eat out at a place like this very often. And you're paying."  
  
Mike laughed, shaking his head.

* * *

"Now this is a good steak," said Nitz appreciatively as he finished chewing a bite of the grade A t-bone on his plate. "Been a while since I had some of this."  
  
"You should have had the steak and lobster special like me," said Rocko as he dipped a piece of lobster into a bowl of butter. "After all, you're not payin' for it."  
  
"Lobster's not really my thing." A familiar sounding laugh caught Nitz's attention. "You know, that sounded like Jesse."  
  
"Well, yeah, she's sitting at a table over there," replied Rocko, cocking a thumb over his shoulder.  
  
Nitz frowned. "Why didn't you mention that before?"  
  
"'Cuz she's already got company, and it ain't anyone I know. So I figure she's probably on a date and would appreciate the privacy."  
  
Nitz's eyes widened. "A date?"  
  
"Yeah. She's sittin' there with some Chinese guy, and he doesn't look he's her brother or something, so I'm guessing it's a date." Rocko smirked. "Besides, do you really think I wanna sit around being insulted by her all night? You know that's what would probably happen."  
  
"Come on, Jesse's not that bad. You know she's just teasing most of the time."  
  
"You, maybe. But enough about Jesse, my story is lots more interesting." Rocko started to tell Nitz about the latest shenanigans at Alpha Alpha, but quickly realised that Nitz was only half listening. He grinned when it became obvious that Nitz was trying to look around him to get a glimpse of Jesse and her date. "You know, if you want I can move a bit so you can get a better look."  
  
"Huh? No, that's not necessary," replied Nitz in a slightly embarrassed tone.  
  
Rocko shrugged. "Suit yourself," he said, and then continued with his story. Once more he could tell Nitz was only half interested, and fought the urge to tease Nitz as his friend tried to get a look at Jesse in the mirrors that lined one side of the restaurant.

* * *

Jesse smiled as she walked out of the restaurant with Mike. The evening had turned out to be rather better than expected. Of course she had been expecting an awkward pseudo date where she tried her best to be undesireable, not a pleasant supper with someone who was in on the joke, so to speak.  
  
"Thanks for this," began Mike. "I really...."  
  
"Dude, if you try and apologise one more time, I'll clock you one," she interjected, cutting him off. "Feeling a little guilty, are we?" she added with a smirk.  
  
He gave her a sheepish grin. "Yeah. Jin Hi may have gone along with this, and nothing was going to happen anyway, but I still feel like I'm sort of cheating on her."  
  
"Yep, you have definitely got it bad for her." The sound of a car pulling up caught Jesse's attention, and she looked over to see a taxi pull to a stop. "Well, there's my cab." She offered her hand to Mike. "Listen, if the two of you ever get out this way give me a call. I'd love to meet her," she said as they shook hands.  
  
"You bet. I'm guessing you two would like each other."  
  
"Besides, I bet it would be fun watching you two. Well, I'd better run. Thanks for everything. See you around." She walked quickly over to the cab, and waved back at him as she climbed in.

* * *

Rocko grinned as he gave Nitz a sidelong glance. He'd been pretty quiet since they'd left the restaurant, and Rocko guessed it was because of Jesse and her date. Rocko found the whole thing very amusing. Nitz was dating Kimmy, who was supposedly Nitz's one true love or some romantic crap like that. Yet once he'd found out Jesse was in the restaurant on an apparent date he'd behaved like he was Jesse's jealous boyfriend or something. Rocko had almost had to drag Nitz out of the restaurant when they were finished.  
  
Rocko rolled his car to a stop just beside one of the main State U. parking lots. "I'm gonna let you off here. It's easier for me to head back if I go this way."  
  
"What? Oh, yeah, sure," replied Nitz distractedly. "Thanks for supper," he said half heartedly as he climbed out of the car.  
  
"My pleasure." Rocko shook his head as he watched Nitz give Kruger, who was walking across the parking lot towards the car, a rather anemic wave hello. Rocko rolled down his window and called out to Kruger, "Yo, dude. How you doin'?"  
  
"I'm doing." Kruger watched Nitz walk slowly away. "Hey, what the $#% is his problem?"   
  
"We were over at Morley's for supper, and Jesse was there with some guy. Figure she was probably having a date."  
  
Kruger looked surprised. "A date? With who?"  
  
Rocko shrugged. "Nobody I know. Go ask Nitz tomorrow, from the way he was actin' I'm sure he's gonna go ask her a bunch of questions."  
  
"Yeah, yer probably right."  
  
"Hey, if you've got some free time Wednesday night gimme a call. That strip joint on 46th is gonna have chicks wrestling in chocolate pudding. Catcha later." Rocko rolled up the window and drove off.  
  
"Jesse dating someone. Wonder if it's serious?" muttered Kruger as he started to walk towards Chilton Hall.

* * *

"Morning, Jesse."  
  
Jesse smiled as Nitz walked into her room. "You're up early." She knew from past experience that Nitz tended to sleep in on weekend mornings.  
  
"Yeah, I went to bed pretty early last night," said Nitz with a shrug. "Besides, Kimmy and I have a brunch date, of all things. This was the only time she had available we could spend together all weekend. So here I am, up at 10 on a Saturday morning."  
  
"Hey, better to spend some time together than no time at all."  
  
"I suppose."   
  
"So, what brings you around these parts?"  
  
"Oh, I was just walking by and thought I'd say hello," Nitz replied, and immediately regretted it. Given where their respective dorm rooms were located you couldn't just casually walk by one after leaving the other. "I mean, we haven't talked in a while, so I figured I'd see what you were up to."  
  
"That's true," Jesse agreed with a nod. "I think it was Monday the last time we talked. Do anything interesting this week?"  
  
Nitz shrugged. "Nah, not really." He watched her shoving things into her backpack for a moment. "So, how was your date last night?" he asked. He hoped he didn't sound too nosey.  
  
Jesse was surprised. "How did you find out about that?"   
  
"Well, actually, Rocko and I went out for supper at Morley's last night and we saw you there."  
  
"You guys should have come over."  
  
Nitz shook his head. "We didn't want to interrupt."  
  
"Believe me, you wouldn't have been," said Jesse with a smile, and quickly explained the whole story.   
  
Nitz nodded as she finished. "I guess you're right, we wouldn't have been bugging you. Its too bad it wasn't really a legit date though."  
  
Jesse shrugged. "Like I told Lisa, I'm not interested in a long distance relationship, and I prefer to arrange my own dates. Besides, he is studying to be an accountant."   
  
"Not big on accountants I see."  
  
"Nope." She grabbed her backpack and slipped it on. "Come on, we can walk to the elevator together. After all, you don't want to keep Kimmy waiting."  
  
"Not much chance of that," replied Nitz, and Jesse couldn't help but notice a trace of melancholy in his voice.

* * *

Gimpy's fingers flashed at lightning speed across his keyboard. "There! That should...the hell? Now that's malfunctioning?!" He angrily reached for his mouse, using it to open another program. "What the hell is going on here?" he asked with a growl.  
  
A distorted ding announced the opening of his webcam program in response to an incoming transmission. He let out a frustrated grunt, as he had more important things to do right now than shoot the breeze. He became even more annoyed when a familiar logo appeared, and She Prime's cackle floated out of the speakers. Gimpy winced when a distorted roar suddenly drowned out her laughing. "...humilate you today?" was all he heard of her opening taunt as the distortion faded out.  
  
"I have no time for your foolishness, woman! My dear, beloved, core computer is bedeviled by some noxious malady, and I can't figure out what the hell it is."  
  
Sitting in front of her own computer Tabitha smirked at Gimpy's melodramatic statement. Her smirk became a frown as Gimpy's face in her video window became a bright green, then almost faded to black before returning to normal. "What kind of trouble are you having?"  
  
"Random malfuncBZZZZZTTTT!"  
  
"Did you go to a site called starwarsisthegreatestever.net recently?" she asked, playing a hunch.  
  
"Yes, but none of the links seemed to work. What does that have to do with anything?"  
  
"You've been hit by a virus. Whoever set up that site just did it to infect computers with viruses. Guess he doesn't like Star Wars fans."  
  
Gimpy was livid. "Someone dares to use the good and holy name of Star Wars to harm others? Blasphemer! They shall be punished!"  
  
She Prime chewed on a knuckle for a moment to keep herself from laughing at Gimpy refering to Star Wars as "good and holy." It was just a movie for heaven's sakes! Shaking her head she called up a file that a friend had sent. "Okay, I'm sending you a file. It's a cleanup patch that will stop that virus dead and repair any damage that it caused. But don't even think of using the e-mail message to backtrack me. I know how to cover my trail very well, as you already know, so you'll just be wasting your time."  
  
"Why should I trust you?" he asked, his suspicion very obvious, as he opened his e-mail program. He found She Prime's message with its supposed virus cleaner had already arrived. "You infected my system with a virus yourself last year."  
  
"Hey, if you don't wanna trust me, fine. It's no skin off my nose. But you'll be spending the next six weeks fixing your system, assuming it isn't a total writeoff!"  
  
With a loud "Hmmph!" Gimpy opened the e-mail attachment and ran the enclosed program. A small, animated figure of a cleaning lady with a broom appeared. It began moving randomly back and forth across the screen, accompanied by a cheery tune Gimpy was sure came from an old Atari 2600 video game cartridge. After a few minutes of movement the figure came to a stop in the middle of the screen and morphed into a cheerleader. The cheerleader then jumped up and down to the sound of a fanfare, holding up a large sign that read "VICTORY!"  
  
Gimpy quickly ran a check on his system, and found it was once more operating normally. "Well, it seems to be working again," he said grudgingly. "Why did you send me that? Why did you help me?"  
  
"I have my reasons," was all She Prime said. The webcam popup then winked out, leaving Gimpy to wonder about her motivations.  
  
She Prime grinned. She could have rubbed Gimpy's nose in the fact that a girl had saved his bacon, but instead she decided to take the high road. She wasn't quite sure why she had, but however Gimpy took it she was sure to benefit in the end.

* * *

Finally, at long last, this comes out. It would have been out sooner, but I've been lazy about writing for a while.


	8. Division

Division

Nitz let out a deep breath as he walked out of the main library, watching it turn into a white cloud in the cold morning air. It was the kind of winter day he really liked. It was cold enough that you didn't find yourself walking through a lake of slush at every turn, but warm enough that you didn't feel like you were going to freeze to death five minutes after you went outside.

He smiled when he spotted Jesse walking towards him. She was missing an unwanted "fashion accessory," as she had called it, which she had been using lately. "So, you're minus the crutch," he said as they met.

"Yeah, thank goodness." She stood on one foot and wiggled the other a bit. "My ankle is still kinda sore, and its taped up pretty good, but I can get around now without the crutch. Hopefully it will be completely better in a week or so."

"Now, that's the difference between you and me, Jess. You go on a Christmas break snowboarding trip, take a tumble, and sprain your ankle. Me, if I did something like that I'd fall off the mountain and break both legs."

Jesse laughed. "You would not!"

"You're right, I'd probably break both legs and an arm."

"Dude, you have such confidence in yourself," she replied sarcastically.

"A man's got to know his limitations," he said with a growl.

"I think your Eastwood imitation needs some work."

"I suppose. So, do you know what's going on over there?" Nitz asked, pointing to a long line of women standing outside the State U-nion.

"You've heard of Guy Now magazine, right?"

He nodded. "Yeah, its like Maxim or something."

"Well, they're looking for girls to appear in their upcoming 'Miss Co-ed Bikini' issue and today its State U.'s turn for tryouts." Jesse crossed her arms and gave the line an amused once over. "And so dozens of wannabe starlets are standing in the cold, hoping to get their fifteen minutes, even if it means being wankoff material for pimply thirteen year olds too scared to steal one of dad's Playboys."

"It's a good thing Brodie could never pass himself off as a woman, or he'd be in line."

"Ewww, thanks a lot! The image of Brodie in a string bikini is one I do not need polluting my brain!"

Nitz chuckled. "And just imagine what kind of garish pattern it would probably be." As he reached up to adjust his cap he caught a familiar shape out of the corner of his eye. Turning his head slightly he spotted Rocko sitting on a bench, watching the women filter into the building. "Well, there's Rocko, so I'd better go over and see what he's up to."

"Like that's hard to figure out. Listen, me and the guys are going to that new place just off campus for lunch. Wanna come?"

"Sure."

Jesse grinned. "Thought you would. Catch you later, dude."

Nitz watched her walk away for a moment, and then started walking towards Rocko. "So, they wouldn't let you in?" he asked as he came to a stop in front of Rocko.

"Yeah, the bastards said they weren't allowing anyone besides the chicks trying out to come in," Rocko replied glumly. "Its not like I was gonna give them suggestions or nothing. Although I could, I know the babes around here pretty good."

"You should, given how much time you spend on campus. Why do you hang out around here so much anyways?"

Rocko laughed. "Come on, Nitz. You've been to CSJCC a couple of times. Would you hang around that dump if you didn't have to?"

"You do have a point," Nitz agreed, nodding. "Of course when it comes to State U.'s female population Cal knows them even better than you."

"Geez, thanks a lot for reminding me," Rocko growled. "I just bet that wad is with some hottie right now!"

* * *

"So, what do you think?"

Cal smiled as he watched her turn around. "You look really nice, Colleenlady," he said approvingly.

Colleen smiled. "I wanted something sexy but kind of innocent too," she said, gesturing to the conservative pink bikini she was wearing. She grabbed her long brown hair and pulled it up into a ponytail high on her head. "Do you think I'd look better with my hair up? I think it would give me more of a 'schoolgirl' thing."

Cal nodded. "You'll look even cuter if you do, lady."

She looked at Cal's desk clock. "Oh, look at the time! I really need to go so I can change before my next class." She quickly grabbed a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt from Cal's bed and slipped them on.

"That's okay. I've got another ladyfriend coming for advice soon."

Colleen laughed as he opened the door. "I'm sure a lot of girls have been asking for help today." Her smile changed to a scowl when she turned and saw another girl standing just outside the door. "Hello, Veronica," she said coldly.

The black haired woman scowled back. "So, you're busy wasting Cal's time. There's no point you know. I'm the one who's going to be chosen."

"In your dreams," Colleen growled as she pushed past Veronica and stormed down the hall.

Cal shook his head. He didn't like it when his ladyfriends were jealous of each other. After all, there was more than enough of him to go around, they didn't need to fight for his affections. He liked them all equally. And he tried not to do things to make them angry, such as telling anyone that he figured Nikki, in the room next to his, was probably going to be chosen as State U.'s representative for the bikini feature.

* * *

Lunchtime found Nitz sitting with Jesse, Brodie, and Kruger in the Slowpoke Café, which had just opened up a couple of blocks from the State U. campus. It was an old fashioned kind of place, with red and white checkered tablecloths, a long lunch counter along one wall, and lots of '50s memorabilia on the walls.

As was often the case when they got together the conversation had turned to movies. But Nitz was only paying partial attention as he ate his hamburger and fries combo. This of course didn't escape Jesse's attention. "Hey, Nitz, you still with us?" she asked as she reached for a french fry.

"Oh, uh, yeah, I do think that movie sucked, Jesse," Nitz said. He scratched the back of his neck nervously for a moment. "Sorry about not answering right away, but I've got something I need to give some serious thought to."

"Yeah, I kind of figured that. You've been sitting there with a serious look on your face the whole time we've been here."

"Now me, I never think about anything hard enough to be distracted by it," Brodie said.

"Yeah, and it shows," Jesse said with a smirk.

Kruger laughed. "You sure the #$& walked into that one."

Jesse turned back to Nitz. "Anything we can help with?"

"What's this 'we' bullshit?" Kruger interjected. "Do I look like $$ Doctor Laura to you?"

Brodie laughed. "No one's gonna mistake you for Doctor Laura. For one thing you're probably nicer than she is."

"Well, you don't have to worry, Kruger," Nitz continued. "This is something I have to figure out myself." He grabbed the ketchup bottle sitting on the table and poured some more on his fries. "So, what do you guys think of this place? Seems to me calling it the Slowpoke Café isn't such a great idea. It will make people think the service is slow."

"It reminds me of the restaurant we used to hang out in at home," Jesse said. "Not that we had any choice, there wasn't anyplace else around. Mr. Riley, the owner, was always complaining about the kids spending so much time there. But he knew everyone's birthday, and always had something special for you when it rolled around. And the french fries! He made some of the best french fries you can imagine."

Nitz chuckled at the wistful expression on Jesse's face. "And here I had the impression you were glad to be away from your home town."

"Yeah, well, maybe I diss it too much. It was where I grew up, and I do have quite a few good memories of it. It's just that it got kind of claustrophobic as I got older. There were all these things I got interested in that aren't available in a small town, and it can be kind of aggravating when everyone knows you and has an opinion on what you're doing or should be doing."

"So you're not going to move back there when you finish school I'd guess," Brodie said.

"'Fraid not," she replied, shaking her head. "You know what they say about how you can't keep them on the farm after they've seen the bright lights of the big city, even if I didn't actually live on a farm."

Nitz smiled. He just couldn't imagine Jesse milking cows, driving a tractor, or doing any of the other things he associated with farming. She'd probably look good in a pair of overalls though, he thought as he grabbed another french fry.

* * *

It was early evening by the time Nitz returned to his room. It was one of the days he had a late afternoon class, and after that he had gone to the library again to do more research for an essay he was working on. Add in a trip to pick up a couple of sandwiches for supper from the campus snack shop and it was well past 7 before he arrived back at Chilton Hall.

Before he shut the door Nitz grabbed a "Do not disturb" sign off his desk and hung it on the doorknob. It likely wouldn't keep Rocko away, but it would probably deter anyone else. His roommate Chris was out of town on a road trip with the State U. hockey team, playing forward, and wouldn't be back for a few days, so he would have some time to sit and think without much chance of interruption.

He grabbed a bottle of juice out of the small dorm room fridge and sat down with a sigh. He opened the bottle, took a drink, and then decided to turn off his computer as well. He wanted to make sure Gimpy wouldn't be able to contact him via his web cam, and he suspected the only sure way to do that was to turn off the machine completely. He needed as much time as possible to himself if he was going to decide whether or not he should break up with Kimmy.

He wondered if he was being too hasty. For years he had dreamed about being with Kimmy, and he had finally seen that dream realised. Yet only a few months later he was thinking about splitting with her. Maybe he hadn't given their relationship enough time.

But he couldn't deny he wasn't satisfied with things between them. It wasn't just that she didn't spend enough time with him. They had both gone home for Christmas break and had spent more time together than they had been in the weeks before the break. There was more to it than that. More and more he'd realised that they really didn't have all that much in common.

There was definitely a physical attraction between them, which had surprised Nitz. He hadn't expected his attraction to her to be returned in kind. Kimmy had called him handsome more than once, which he just couldn't see. He tended to think of himself as at best average in the looks department. He hadn't received much interest from the girls in high school, and being friends with a notorious "babe magnet" like Cal didn't help things. As flattering as Kimmy's statements were though Nitz wanted more than that. He wanted a deeper emotional connection than mere lust, and it just didn't seem to be there.

He snickered as a thought came to mind, namely how Rocko would react if Nitz told him something like that. He could just imagine what Rocko would say: "Geez, Nitz, you sound like a chick when you say stuff like that. Who cares about emotions and all that wussy crap when you can get her into the sack?" Yeah, he thought, that's exactly the kind of thing he would say. Which was precisely the reason why he'd dismissed without a second thought the idea of talking to Rocko about the situation.

Nitz had been completely serious when he'd told Kruger he would figure things out himself. After all, as far as he could tell Kruger's attitudes towards women weren't too far off from Rocko's, making him a poor choice for relationship advice. Brodie had casually dated a few women since they'd met, but Nitz had no idea if he'd ever had any experience with something more serious. He definitely knew Cal wouldn't be of any help, and Gimpy seemed able to relate only to women who didn't actually exist, like Queen Amidala or Dana Scully.

That left Jesse, and she was definitely off limits this time. There was of course the obvious reason that she was a less than neutral observer of his relationship with Kimmy. But more importantly there was the comment she had made months ago, that he had to figure things out for himself, that he couldn't expect her to have all the answers. He knew she was right. And in the end the only other person whose opinion truly counted was Kimmy.

Nitz leaned forward in his chair and looked out the window at the night sky, staring at the Moon as he continued to mull over his future with Kimmy, if there was one.

* * *

"Aw shit!" Rocko said angrily as he looked at a bulletin board near the Central State Junior Community College library. "What is this crap?"

"Hey, what's the problem?" a familiar voice asked.

Rocko turned and saw it was Braun, one of his fellow Alpha Alpha members. "It's the Guy Now bikini thing tryout here, its been cancelled."

"No shit," Braun replied, scratching his head. "Does it say why?"

"Yeah, they claim it's due to 'lack of interest,' whatever the hell that means. Maybe they decided the talent pool here wasn't big enough."

"That would be an insult to us! Its not like this is 'Geekess Central' like Tekerson."

Rocko grinned. "I dunno, man. There's this RA over there that's kinda hot…."

"Someone told me you tried to get into the auditions over at State U. yesterday but they wouldn't let you in."

Rocko nodded. "Yeah, but this time I had the perfect plan. I figured they'd hold it over in the cafeteria, and it's got that skylight."

Braun laughed. "And the door to the roof has a busted lock."

"Exactly. I woulda had a great view, but no, I'm not even gonna get the chance." Rocko crossed his arms and scowled. "What's a guy gotta do to see a cutie in a bikini?"

"You could go hang out at the pool in the State U. athletic building."

"Nah, they usually wear one pieces jobs there. Besides, I'm banned from there. Someone complained I was ogling the women too much." Rocko shook his head, a sad frown on his face. "What's this world coming to when a guy can't even ogle a bit without getting grief about it?"

Braun nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it's a tough world for a guy."

* * *

Chris Douglas waved a hand over his duffle bag. "Damn, what a stench," he muttered as he looked at the dirty clothing inside. If there was one thing he definitely did not look forward to after arriving back from a road trip it was doing his laundry, even if it had been a successful trip. The State U. Statesmen may have won two of three games on the road, but it didn't make his laundry any less smelly.

Knowing the laundry wouldn't wash itself he grabbed the bag and pulled open the dorm room door. As he stepped out into the corridor he saw Kimmy walking towards him. "Hey, Kimmy," he greeted her.

"Hi, Chris. Is Nitz around?" she asked with what sounded like a trace of nervousness in her voice.

"Nah, but I think he has a class that's just ending, so I bet he'll be here soon. So go ahead and wait for him if you want."

"Thanks, I really appreciate that."

Chris laughed. "You make it sound like I'm doing you some great favour. At least I know you're not gonna be like Rocko and drop cigarette ash all over the place, or spill beer on my bed."

"That bad?"

"Pretty much. I'd better run, so talk to you later."

"Have fun," she called after him as he walked away, and sat down on Nitz's bed. She absentmindedly looked around the room for a few moments, and then stood up again. She walked over to Nitz's desk and picked up the framed picture of herself sitting on it. She shook her head, wondering why she'd never given him a better picture. She'd never particularly liked this one, thinking it made her look too pale and withdrawn.

As she put the picture back down Nitz walked in. "Hey, Kimmy. What brings you here?" he asked.

"Nitz, well, we really need to talk," she replied nervously.

"Okay." He pushed the door closed. "I'm guessing you'd like some privacy." He walked over to his chair and sat down. "So, what do you need to talk to me about?"

Kimmy started to pace back and forth. "This is harder than I thought. I figured it was just a case of coming here, but now…."

"Kimmy, relax," Nitz said in a soothing voice. "Take your time."

Kimmy took several deep breaths and sat down on Chris's bed. "Nitz, it's been fun going out with you. But the last little while I've come to realise, well, that our relationship really isn't going to go any further." She looked him directly in the eye. "I think we should break up."

Nitz's eyes widened. "I don't believe it. You too," he said softly.

"Me too?"

"Yeah, I've been trying to figure out how to tell you the same thing, that we should break up."

A look of relief crossed her face. "Thank goodness! That's good to hear. I mean, not that I'm happy that you think we should break up. But I was worried you might think things were going well and be really upset about me wanting us to split."

"Yeah, that's a sensible reaction. I mean, I had this crush on you for years, so…."

Kimmy blushed. "God, that's really embarrassing for me. I only found that out after we started dating, and it was only because Lisa told me. She knew about it, and I didn't!" She slumped a little. "That must make me seem like a really horrible, clueless person."

"Come on, Kimmy, there's no reason you should have known. I couldn't even work up the courage to say hello to you until last year."

"No, I should have known," she replied, shaking her head. "And worse, I forgot who you were, remember? I did know you enough in high school to say hello when we ran into each other, but when we met again last year it took me a bit to remember you." She looked downwards. "I'm sorry for that. You deserved better."

"I still think you're being too hard on yourself."

She looked up at him and shook her head. "And I think you're not being hard enough on me. For that, and for other things, like not spending more time with you. I know it bugged you, so don't try and deny it." She looked back down at her lap. "Honestly, I don't think I should be dating anyone right now. I've got so much crammed into my life that I don't think I can give a relationship the time and effort it needs."

Nitz frowned. "I can understand that. But I…don't know if it would have made a difference in the end even if we had spent more time together."

"I don't know either. You're a nice guy, I do like you. But I just don't feel like we should be a couple. I can't really put it into words why, I just do." She looked at him hopefully. "I hope we can still be friends."

"Of course, Kimmy." They stood up, and on impulse Nitz stepped forward and hugged her. "Thank you for, I don't know, I guess giving me a chance, Kimmy."

She smiled at him as he broke the hug. "I'm really glad that I did, Nitz. Don't ever think otherwise." She walked slowly to the door. "So, I guess I'll see you around," she said as she pulled it open.

"Goodbye, Kimmy," he said, knowing there really wasn't anything more to be said.

"Goodbye, Nitz."

He stood for a moment, listening to the rhythm of her footsteps as she walked away. "It's the end of an era," he said quietly as he closed the door. So much of the last few years of his life had in one way or another revolved around Kimmy. He suspected that even his decision to go to State U. had been influenced by his crush. But now it had come to an end. Although he had hoped for a rather different outcome he had no regrets that he'd taken the risk. He had a suspicion that if he hadn't his crush would have kept going with no end in sight, and that it wouldn't have been good for him.

He sighed, grabbed a textbook off his desk, and flopped down on his bed, suddenly feeling tired. It seems the old song was right, he thought. Breaking up is hard to do, even if you did do it calmly. He was glad he had nothing planned that evening, as all he felt like doing now was lying quietly in his room and recovering from the emotional strain the last few days, and especially the last few minutes, had been.

* * *

A knock on the door drew Nitz out of his reverie. He looked at the clock on the wall and to his surprise saw it had been a couple of hours since Kimmy had left. "Come in," he called out.

Jesse walked in. "Hey, I'm heading out to a movie with Dan and Brodie. You want to tag along?"

Nitz shook his head. "Thanks for the offer, but not tonight. I'm just in the mood to sit around and do some thinking."

A smirk appeared on Jesse's face. "Okay, Nitz, spill it. What's happened this time?"

"What makes you think something has happened?" he asked, curiosity evident in his voice.

"Because you've got your 'something important has happened in my life that's a big change or revelation, but it's really not as bad as I thought it would be' look on your face."

"I don't have a look like that!" he said with a snort.

"Sure you do. It looks something like this." She made a face that reminded Nitz of someone trying something sour but not sure if they liked it or not. "Or maybe its something like this," she said as she made another face.

"Jesse, that one looks like Rocko being constipated."

"And how would you know…Um, never mind, I don't want to know how you'd know something like that."

Nitz laughed and leaned back against the headboard of his bed. "Well, if you really must know, Kimmy broke up with me tonight."

Jesse's surprise was obvious. "What, and you're not sitting there bawling your eyes out and tearing out your hair?"

"Nope," he replied, shaking his head. "She just beat me to the punch."

Jesse's expression changed to one of confusion. "Huh? You're saying you were going to break up with her?"

"Yeah. We both came to the conclusion that we really aren't the right people for each other and decided to end things. But we're going to stay friends."

"So things went out with a whimper instead of a bang."

"Yeah, pretty much." Nitz rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I think part of what happened is that I got to know Kimmy as a person. For years I was obsessed with her, but not the real her. I was obsessed with an idealised version of her that I had in my head."

Jesse nodded. "Right, that makes perfect sense. Crushes are like that. But no one can live up to something like that."

Nitz smiled ruefully. "Yeah, exactly. Even last year, when I first started spending some actual time around her, I started to find out she's not a perfect goddess, but a human being with her own set of hang-ups and imperfections, some of which I find really annoying. Like that she just can't seem to sit still for more than a few minutes, she always has to be doing something. And a lot of our personal beliefs don't really match up. Like, she's become a vegetarian, and I just can't imagine being one.'

Jesse laughed. "Me neither! You'd probably die if you didn't have at least one serving of beef a week."

"Come on, I'm not bad."

"Nah, but just about." She looked at her watch. "Well, I've got to go if I'm gonna catch the movie. Will you be all right?"

"Go, go, I'll survive," he said, waving his hand towards the door.

"If you want I can go get Kiki. She helped that time you had problems with Cal."

Nitz laughed. "Nah, I can get by without stuffed bunny therapy this time. Now get going before you miss your movie and I have to be all guilty about it."

"C'mon, Nitz, you're not _that_ bad," she said with a grin as she walked out the door.

* * *

Jesse thought about Nitz as she sat in the theatre waiting for the movie to start. She hadn't been particularly surprised to hear Nitz and Kimmy had split. She had realised they were having problems before Christmas break. Nitz might not have talked much about what went on with Kimmy, much to Jesse's relief, but it wasn't hard to tell he had been less than happy with how things were going between them.

What did surprise her was Nitz's reaction. Instead of the near hysterics she had expected he had looked at the situation calmly and rationally, and behaved in a sensible way. Sure, she could tell he was disappointed with the way the relationship had gone, but he wasn't acting like it was the end of the world because it had ended.

As for their relationship Jesse knew exactly what she was going to do next. Nothing. She was enjoying things the way they were, and was in no hurry to change them. It would be stupid to go after Nitz when he was on the rebound in any case. The result would likely be a big mess, one way or the other. Besides, he knew how she felt about him. It was time to give him a chance to make a move, if there was any move making to be made. She couldn't be expected to do all the work.

* * *

Nitz might not have needed comforting that evening, but others did. A group of girls sat in a local bar, sharing a table with Cal, who was doing his best to console them. They had all tried out for the Guy Now bikini issue, and had received the news that day there would be a State U. student involved. Unfortunately it wouldn't be any of them.

"What has Nikki Colson got that I don't?" Colleen asked plaintively as she looked morosely into her mug of beer.

"Yeah, its not like she's really chesty or anything," another of the girls said.

Cal smiled sympathetically at them. "Don't worry, pretty ladies. I think you're all beautiful. And if I ever get to run a magazine, I'll make sure you all get to be in it."

"Oh, Cal, that's so sweet of you to say," Colleen said and reached over to hug him, followed by the other girls.

As he enjoyed the grateful hugs of his friends Cal wondered if Nikki would give him a copy of the magazine when she appeared in it.

* * *

Hmmm, are those cheers I hear? 

I'm sorry this chapter took so damn long, but I just couldn't seem to get it done. Of course if you've looked at my profile regularly you know I haven't put out any other fanfics lately either. As for the next chapter of this series I'll make no forecasts for when it will appear, but hopefully it will be much quicker than this one. If only I could be more like someone like Neuropsych, who can write a tens of thousands of words epic in a couple of weeks.


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